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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMEEIC 



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SPIRITUAL 



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FRAGMENTS 










By J. J. OWEN 



Late editor, for 24 years, of the "San Jose (Cal.) Mercury, 
Editor of " Golden Gate," and author of 
" Our Sunday Talks." 




SAN FRANCISCO. 

The Rosenthal-Saalburg Co. 

1890. 



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1 .0«v 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by 

J. J. OWEN, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C, 






i;0 THE HELPFUL COMPANION, 

EARNEST WORKER, 

AND 

FAITHFUL AND UNERRING ADVISER 

IN ALL THINGS. 

MY GOOD AND PRECIOUS WIFE, 

(TO WHOM THE SUGGESTION AND INSPIRATION 

OF MANY OF THESE "FRAGMENTS" IS DUE), 

IS THIS BOOK LOVINGLY DEDICATED 

I'.V THE AUTHOR. 



INTRODUCTION 



This is a busy world, and life is too short, and too 
busily occupied for one tc go a roundabout way to truth, 
when the end can be more readily reached by a short 
cut across lots. Most people prefer advice in homoeop- 
athic doses, and religion in a condensed form — the lat- 
ter, especially, the}- would have divested of long prayers, 
and everything that squints at cant. These "Fragments' 
are the mere flashes of thought, and as such, we im- 
magine, will arrest the attention of man} - minds when 
the obscurity of a bewildering argument, or tiresome es- 
say, would only inspire indifference. It is with this 
thought we send this book of "Fragments'"' 1 adrift, claim- 
ing for the many and varied topics treated the rare virtue 
of brevity, if nothing more, and craving for it the kind 
indulgence of a discerning, but not always sympathetic public. 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS, 



Am I my Brother's Keepe 

A California Winter 

A Lost Fortune . 

A Grand Humanitarian 

A Well Rounded J.ife 

An Awful Mystery 

A Hopeless Place 

A Monster of Iniquity 

Almost There 

A Sublime Fallacy 

An Element .Missing 

A Sunny Soul 

Acquisitiveness . 

A Weak Charge . 

A Necessary Evil 

Aunty T 

A Paternal Government 

A Word in Your Ear 

A Grave Mistake 

A Wide Gulf 

Adjustment of Self to Environment 

Acting One's Best 

A Constant Struggle 

Adjustment to Nature 

Amending Their Creeds 

A Good Wife 

A Settled Fact . 

A Mother's Love 

A Wide Difference 

A New Meaning 

A Religious War 

All Travelrrs in Life's Journey 

Brains 

Building Fetter than She Knew 

Belief vs. Knowledge 

Beauty in Variety 

Belief 

Blessings in Disguise 

Before Their Time 

Cold Comfort . 

Clinging to Life 

Come With Me 



124 
136 
i37 
171 
177 
178 
183 
190 

IQ3 

19+ 
107 
20+ 
206 
221 
222 
224 
241 
243 
246 
251 
253 
42 
6c- 
125 
167 
18+ 
188 
209 
40 
58 



o CONTENTS. 






Chronic Fault Finding . . IC g 


Comfort of Spirit Communion 




*53 


Consolation in Affliction 




i63 


Clinging to the Past .... 






173 


Casting Seed Upon Barren Ground 






i74 


Christmas Time ... 






180 


Complaining ; 






196 


Contentinent ..... 






199 


Central Point of Two Eternities 






205 


Capital Punishment 






228 


Church History .... 






233 


Come Up . . 






250 


Drift of Civilization . . . . 






13 


Destruction of Innocent Life . 






34 


Death Natural and Painless . 






36 


Dogmatism .... 






93 


Don't Complain 






140 


Does Prohibition Prohibit? 






143 


1 >iscipline of Evil . 






145 


I >ivme Symphonies .... 






169 


Don't Crowd ... 




189 


Distrust ..... 




205 


Delusions 




23S 


Enlightened Thought ........ 


32 


Edwin Arnold , 






34 


E\erand Forever 






47 


Earthbound .... 






56 


Enlightened Co-Operation Necessary , 






76 


Emerging into the Eight 






103 


Eyes to the Front 






no 


Emptiness of Riches , , 






134 


Evil Thoughts , 






2 


Plrroneous Belief . . , 






252 


Freethought .... 






58 


For What Purpose 




• * 


104 


Eor Sweet Charity's Sake 






179 


Fortune's Ladder 






195 


Faith and Knowledge 






215 


J'oolish Pride . 






236 


< Gravitation .... 






3i 


< lenerous Deeds .... 






45 


Croping in Darkness 






190 


<)et the Best .... 






234 


Grand March , 






i37 


Glory of Forgetfulness . 






239 


Giving What One Doesn't Want 






245 


( Jive it Time . . 






-'57 


Homesick , , 






15 


How to Make Spiritualism Respectabl e 






56 


Humility ..... 






59 


Home ..... 






64 



CONTENTS* 



Health and Harmony . 
How Does He Know- 
How Little We Know . 
Harmony . 

Home Where Love is Not 
Hallelujah of Gladness . 
How to Investigate Psychic Phe 
Infant Damnation 
Invocation 
It Doesn't Pay . 
Is Spiritualism a Religion? 
If I Were Only Rich . 
In a Manger 

Immensity of the Universe 
Ingersoll . 
In Wisdom's Ways 
Incentives to a Better Life 
Inhuman Thoughts 
Kindness 

Love Alone That Saves 
Life and Death . 
Level Heads 
Law 

Love Never Dies 
Life Unto Life . 
Lift Up Your Heads 
Liberalism 
Like Attracts Like 
Memory . 

Missionaries 

Mother . . 

Man-Made Theories 

More Good than Appears, Et 

Moral Death 

Modern Spiritualism 

My Soul and I . , 

More ! More ! 

Misfortune 

Mediumship and Morality 

Moving Forward . . 

Man's Real Woith 

Moral Disease , 

Mustered Out 

Nature's Lessons 

Not the All of Life 

Nature's Works 

Night of Horrors 

New Year 

Old Traditions 

Opposition 

One World at a Time 



9 

6 7 
1 5 5 

»5S 

.64 



4S 
97 
i 03 
' 3i 
186 
198 
222 
220 
247 
256 
63 



130 

161 
163 
190 

22i 

2 35 

353 

14 

l 5 
i9 
19 
22 
39 
41 
5 1 
56 
60 



240 
*59 
43 
96 
J 47 
160 
231 
36 
49 
7> 



CONTEXTS. 



Our Thanksgiving 

Only for the Few 

Our Good Old Mother . 

Our Funeral Customs 

Our Property 

Our Stewards 

Old Age . 

On Trial . 

One World at a Time 

On to the Conqnest 

On What Hapiness Depends 

Perverted Mediumship . 

Poverty of Riches 

Plaint of the Unwise 

Passing On 

Prayer 

Potency of Thought 

Power of the Spirit 

Physical Courage 

Prejudice 

Pitiable . 

Purposes of Creation 

Perversion of Christianity 

Poor Fellow 

Power of Wealth 

Proper Education 

Questions 

Religion of Love 

Remedy for Crime 

Righteous Judgment 

Reason . 

Secret of Strength 

Strange . 

Sickness 

Sleep 

Sustaining Grace of Spirituahsn 

Sorrowful Satisfaction , 

Scientific Methods 

Spiritual Discernment . 

Sword of the Spirit 

Stupendous Mistake 

Skimming the Surface . 

Secret Springs of Power 

Spiritual Simpletons 

Spiritualism Made Practic 

Surer Roads to Eminence 

Sunshine 

Sure Indications 

Shall I Give Up My Religic 

Something Be;ter 

Self Respect 



136 

139 

162 

173 

201 

227 

238 

254 

256 

'9 

55 

64 

151 

i59 

166 

172 

180 

187 

i97 

19S 

200 

204 

219 

225 

258 

106 

124 

188 

230 

16 

i7 

18 

39 

4 S 

66 

67 

7° 

75 

75 

107 

no 

"7 

126 

157 

187 

193 

201 

203 

213 



CONTENTS. 



Sights and Wonders 
Shortness of Mortal Sight 
Slaves to Environment 
The Dividing Line 
Twin Monsters 
Things that Wealth Cannot Purchase 
The Chronic Growler 
The Virtue of Selfishness 
The Shadow of Ecclesiasticism 
The True Hero . 
The One Bright Star 
The First Awakening 
Twin Graces 
True Beauty 
The Devil's Philosophy . 
The ''Knock Down" Argumen 
Think Kindly of the Erring 
Teachings of Jesus 
The Successful Man 
The Years Wear On 
The Spread of Truth 
The Coming Century 
Tha Still Small Voice 
Theosophy 
The Thankful Worm 
The Down Grade 
Think of It 

Through the Gates of Ignorant 
There Comes a Time 
The Man Who Knows 
Tendency of Society 
The Right Way . 
The Church of Rome 
This Old Earth of Ours . 
The Sweet By and By 
The Voice of Nature 
The Highest Good 
The Inevitable 
Truth 

Unused Wealth . 
Value of Phenomena 
Veneration 
Virtue of Giving . 
What Were You made For? 
Where Responsibility Lies 
Why Wait for Happiness 
Whence and Whither 
What We Need . 
Worrying God With Advice 
What Can I Do? . 
What of It? 



223 
232 
249 



119 
121 
123 
135 
138 
141 
160 
161 
162 
165 
172 
i75 
181 
207 
211 
217 
21S 
224 
242 



46 
55 
65 
9 S 
114 
115 
129 

1 -r : 



! 2 CONTENTS. 

What Care We? • ... 180 

Wealthy Bachelors .... .... 209 

What Changes Have Come .....-•■ 214 

What He Most Needs. . • 2 55 



DRIFT OF CIVILIZATION. 



The drift of civilization is in the direction of the enlarge- 
ment of the field of human reason. The time was when to 
think outside of a certain prescribed formula was heresy, pun- 
ishable with all manner of pious cruelty. That time has past 
There is nothing now too venerable with age, or too sacred 
with tradition, that man does not claim the right to investigate 
and subject to the scales and crucible of human reason. If 
you confront him with a " Thus saith the Lord," he is deter- 
mined to know when the Lord said it, who said He said it, and 
how, when, where and to whom it was said. If you bring for- 
ward written authority to prove that the sun stood still to en- 
able a certain ancient general to prolong the slaughter of his 
enemies, or that another prominent personage survived the di- 
gestion of a big fish for three days, human reason will natural- 
ly question your authority. The fables to which the religious 
world has so long given credence, are brought under the scru- 
tiny of science and enlightened judgment, and if found un- 
reasonable are cast aside, as moral and intellectual rubbish. 



And why should man not reason upon the improbabilities 
of an ancient book just the same as he would upon any other 
subject? There can be no better guide than reason, quick- 
ened by intuition — notwithstanding we once heard a good 
Presbyterian clergyman thank God that he had "a religion 
that was not based on human reason ! " What would be 
thought of the sailor who should cast his compass and quad- 
rant into the deep, and trust to the winds and waves to bear 
his vessel safely into port ? When man sets aside his reason he 
simply throws his compass overboard. The time is at hand 



14 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

when he will have no religion that does not square with his 
reason. Why is it that our church pews are mainly empty of 
brainy men and women, unless it be because thoughtful people 
are not content longer to listen to doctrines repugnant, not 
only to reason, but to every sense of human justice. Habitual 
church-goers are mainly good and respectable people, who 
haven't the time or inclination to do much religious thinking 
for themselves, but are passively content to take their religious 
opinions second-handed. 



MEMORY. 

Memory ! How like an avenging demon it will follow 
one through life, and out and on into the infinite realm of spirit 
— the memory of unholy deeds ! True, the conscience may 
be seared by many and oft repeated wrongs, until the memory 
thereof may make but little, if any, impression upon the 
mind. But there comes a time, as God is just, when the 
spirit will reach its lowest depth of indifference, and feel the 
first gentle promptings to a higher life. Then memory will do 
its work, if never before. What ages of agony may not the 
darkened soul experience in its long, sad journey towards the 
light ! And so, also, the pleasures of memory to a life well 
spent — what can be more delightful ! The pleasing incidents 
of childhood — a mother's tender love and care ; a father's 
thoughtful guidance to a manly career — the joys and pleasures, 
the fond associations, the happy dreams of love — how they will 
be borne to us on memory's silver wings, sweetening the years 
of time, and adding rich argosies of gems to the treasures of 
eternity ! There is no accusing angel so relentless as that of 
one's own soul — no all-seeing'eye so penetrating as that where* 
by man shall see himself. And this is the true way of life 
from darkness to light — from the night of ignorance, to the 
glorious day of man's spiritual unfoldment — when he shall be 
a law unto himself forevermore. 



HOMESICK. 
HOMESICK. 



What a dull, leaden thing is a human heart away from its 
home nest and longing to return. The man or woman who 
was never homesick has missed just one note of agony in the 
gamut of human suffering, that would vastly enrich their ex- 
perience to realize. We well remember, when a boy of twelve 
years, we left the shelter of the paternal roof to solve the prob- 
lem of life — to learn the printer's trade. Eleven miles away ! 
What an infinite distance, and what ?eons of time were in- 
volved in that first week of absence ! Strange faces and 
scenes all around, and such an aching lump in the breast ! 
And when Saturday night came, with what eager joy we 
walked those eleven miles to be once more coddled in the dear 
old home nest. What a joyous welcome from the six noisy 
brothers and the one wee sister, as the traveler ( ? ) returned to 
them, and the sainted mother gathered her wanderer of a 
great long week to her loving heart. Ah, that was in the 
"lang syne." Where now is that happy household? All 
except the writer and the then baby girl in some of the many 
mansions of the Infinite Father in the Beyond ! And we 
toughened and grizzled with the footprints of time, sit here 
dreaming of the good time coming in the evening — the Satur- 
day evening — when our task shall be finished, and we can go 
home ! 



MISSIONARIES. 



Twenty missionaries sailed from the city of San Francisco 
recently for Siam, China, and other places in the Orient, to 
teach the people of those lands something about J esus. What 
a waste of good men and women ! Missionaries, from a 
country that licenses rum-selling ; from a people far less honest, 
or moral, in a general sense, than those to whom these mis- 
sionaries are sent ! How the chains of a perverted education 



I 6 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

must cling to the limbs of these poor missionaries. They give 
up their lives for the imagined welfare of the poor heathen, 
who care nothing at all for their teachings, unless it be that 
they may thereby acquire a knowledge of another tongue. The 
Hindu doesn't want our religion, for the very good reason that 
he thinks he has a much better kind of religion of his own. 
He might profit by some of our science — our superior knowl- 
edge of many things ; but that isn't religion, and that isn't 
what these men and women go out to teach. 



MOTHER. 

Beautiful mother ! How patiently and gently she bears 
up under the heavy burden of her almost desolate life. Deso- 
late, did we say ? Not so. Loving angels are her daily com- 
panions ; they walk by her side, through the fields and over 
the hills of her lonely mountain home — wherever duty calls 
her — and they brood her with their sweet presence through the 
silent watches of the night, ever enthusing her heart with an 
abiding trust in the All-Good. At her tasks, early and late 
though not strong for such arduous toil, yet never complaining' 
— always the gentle word and the kind thought, and always the 
comfort of others in preference to that of herself. Grand, un- 
selfish soul ! There is a brighter day dawning for you. Think 
not the clouds that have so long lowered over your widowed 
life have no silver lining. Already the light is breaking, and 
the glow and warmth of happier hours are near at hand. 
There are years of happiness before you in this life, and a 
crown of peace, the guerdon of a beautiful womanhood, in the 

life Beyond. 

«» ♦ «■ 

SECRET OF STKEKGTH. 



A lady friend, nearly sixty years of age, who had tramped 
all day through the busy streets, preparatory to departing on a 



STRANGE. I 7 

long journey by sea, dropped in to spend the evening with us 
recently. She bore not the slightest appearance of fatigue, 
and was bright, convivial and full of life. We inquired the 
secret of her freshness and strength. She replied that she had 
learned the art of holding herself together, as it were, and not 
exhausting her vitality in her physical labors. She could find 
rest while walking along the crowded streets, by not allowing 
other persons or things to draw upon her strength. If she 
found herself becoming wearied in the least, she immediately 
called a halt of her forces and rallied to the support of herself. 
Thus by a prompt and wise exercise of her will powers she 
was able to ward off physical fatigue, and at the same time per- 
form a vast amount of work. Here is a fine illustration of the 
power of mind over matter, and one which we recommend 
others to imitate. 



STRANGE. 

It is indeed strange that so many believers in spiritual 
truths should be averse to permitting the fact to be made 
known — as though some surrender of reputation depended up- 
on a concealment of the truth. The time has past when to 
be known as a Spiritualist "was attended with any disgrace, if 
indeed there was ever any such time. The attitude of Chris- 
tians who reject the positive facts of Spiritualism is simply 
puerile. They have pretended to believe in the existence and 
communion of spirits in a sort of general ordeific way, it is 
true, but without any postive proof thereof. Now, for them to 
ridicule Spiritualists for confirming them in their belief, with 
proof, "in confirmation strong as proof of holy writ," is not 
only unjust, but it emphasizes their own illogical attitude of be- 
lieving without proof! But there are too many good men and 
women in the world, men of broad intellectuality and ac- 
knowledged worth, who are open and avowed Spiritualists, for 
anyone longer to hesitate to be known as such. 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

SICKNESS. 



Sickness is nothing more nor less than the body at war 
with the spirit. A good lady, who had been an invalid for 
years, and is now a great sufferer from a combination of ail- 
ments, said to us a few days ago that she did not believe in 
Spiritualism — thought it all fraud and humbug, that she did 
not want any of her spirit friends coming near her. "That," 
we replied, "is just what's the matter with you, and fully ac- 
" counts for your ill health. Your attitude of mind towards 
" your spirit friends, who would gladly bring you health and 
" strength, prevents their coming into your aura ; hence, they 
" are powerless to aid you." How much misery could be 
averted in this life if people only understood these spirit laws 
better, and brought their own spirits into harmony with the 
world of spirit forces on the other side of life. How pained 
must be the spirits of our loved ones, who have left us for a 
brief season, to be rudely repulsed when they would come to 
lis, with loving purpose, from their shining homes. 



THE DIVIDING LINE. 



The dividing line between " God's patience and his 
wrath," as the old hymn has it, is something too fine for human 
reason to determine. For instance, the church teaches an 
eternal heaven of infinite happiness for the saints, and an 
eternal hell of infinite woe for sinners. There is no intermedi- 
ate or graduated state of happiness or misery. The two 
places, or conditions, are separated by an impassible gulf as 
wide and deep as eternity. But we find no analogy in mortal 
life to warrant any such division in the life to come. Here 
the bad are not wholly bad, nor the good, except in phenom. 
inal instances, wholly good. There are the very good and the 
good who are almost bad, the very bad and the bad who are 
almost good. They live side by side here, and closely impinge 



MAN MADE THEORIES. I 9 

upon each other's lines of life. If the good in the bad is to 
receive no consideration, what is the use of the bad trying to 
be good ? Why punish a soul for the bad there may be in it r 
and give it no credit for the good, especially when it is trying 
hard to overcome its evil tendencies, which may be the result 
of heredity, or of unfavorable environment? These are ques- 
tions that only the orthodox clergy can answer most unsatis- 
factorily ! The more they try, the more they find themselves, 
like the poor fly in the spider's web, inextricably involved in 
the meshes of illogical logic ! 

MAN MADE THEORIES. 



Compare the man-made theories of the future, supposed 
to be founded on the teachings of a special revelation from the 
Creator, with the truths brought back to us by those who 
have solved the mystery of death. They tell us a simple 
story that confutes the religious teachings of the ages ; hence 
the church will have none of it. They, our risen friends, as- 
sure us that just as we leave this life we enter the next, de- 
veloped or undeveloped, saint or sinner ; that our status there, 
at first, is just what we made ourselves here ; that growth, by 
good conduct, is possible there as here ; that we suffer there 
for our misdeeds here — not eternally, but until we have paid 
the full penalty of violated law. They invaribly tell us that 
they have found no heaven nor hell, no God nor Devil — in 
short, that life there is a continuation of life here, but under 
better conditions for improvement, and that every soul that 
tries can find happiness sometime and somewhere, and that 
without any vicarious atonement. 



PERVERTED MEDIUMSHIP 



Perverted mediumship may be defined as that kind of 
mediumship where spirit intelligences of a low order lend 



2 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

themselves to dishonest purposes. It may be the medium's 
own spirit, working independently, or, perhaps, in concert with 
spirits outside of the body, that produces the false message, or 
dishonest result. It was a frequent occurrence with a dishon- 
est slate-writer, formerly of this city, (who was addicted, with 
other vices, to that of gambling, and spent large sums at the 
gaming table,) for messages to appear upon the slates, signed 
by the name of the medium's guide, or some spirit friend of 
the sitter, directing or entreating the latter to lend money to 
the medium, under plea of house rent to pay, or great distress 
of poverty. In this way he obtained large sums which were 
recklessly squandered to gratify his vitiated taste for gambling. 
This mediifms guide, through another medium, protested to a 
lady'of the writer's acquaintance, from whom over five hun- 
dred dollars had been extorted in this way, that it was not he 
that indited the begging messages, but the medium's own 
spirit ! 



These are important facts that every investigator of psy- 
chic powers should understand. They teach us that we never 
should surrender our own judgments in matters of spirit com- 
munications — nor should we accept as genuine, without ques- 
tion, all messages that purport to come from our spirit friends. 
The moral status of the medium should always be considered 
in such cases, ever remembering that the message from your 
friend is liable to be perverted, or distorted, by the impure 
channel through which it comes. While mediumship is not a 
question of morality, nevertheless, morality in the medium is 
an important factor in obtaining honest communications. 
Hence it is that we should demand an upright, honorable life, 
high standard of integrity on the part of our mediums, if 
we would avoid the unsatisfactory results of which so many com. 
plain. 



TWIN MONSTERS. 2 1 

But the fault of a deceiving message may not always lie 
with the medium. We should consider well, in approaching the 
•sacred altar of spirit communion, whether our own hearts are clean 
and honest, and in a fitting frame to receive the truth. The 
man who spends his days in an endeavor to circumvent his 
neighbors and get the best of a trade — the one of impure life 
and dishonest tendencies, — what right has he to expect absolute 
honesty of communication through any medium ? His spirit 
friends may be on the same moral plane as himself, and who 
wculd delight in leading him astray. If we would have the 
rjest from the other side of life, we should seek for the best 
in our own lives, ever aspiring for the truth, ever living and 
.acting the truth, and ever drawing nearer and nearer to the 
Infinite Good. 



TWIN MONSTERS. 



Prejudice and jealousy are two of the meanest attributes 
•of the undeveloped human mind. The former appears at its. 
worst advantage when it condemns without just cause, and re- 
fuses to listen to that which might tend to remove an unjust 
•conclusion from the mind. The Church has so roundly and 
■so long condemned all other ways of going to heaven, except 
the narrow one through its own dooryard, and especially does 
it look upon Spiritualism with such disfavor, that some persons 
within the shadow of its influence, whose habits of independent 
thought are not strikingly pronounced, have come to shape 
their opinions therewith, without really knowing why or where- 
fore. With narrow minds prejudice becomes a raging demon 
that will not reason nor listen to reason, and so nothing can be 
done with it but to remove the cause, or let.it tire itself out 
with its own cussedness. We know a grand soul and a s;ood 
husband, in fact more than one, who would dearly like to en- 
joy his belief in our beautiful philosoph), but can not because 
his wife will not assent to it. And so, for the sake of peace, 



22 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



he is obliged to forego what might be a source of the purest 
and sweetest joy to them both. Isn't it pitiful? 



The other of these twin monsters of the undeveloped spirit 
is jealousy, the instigator of more domestic ill than all other 
causes combined. Not even rum, the fierce demon of destruc- 
tion that has dragged down to ruin and death so many of the 
fairest and brightest minds of the world, can compare with it. 
Men and women, who live largely on the physical plane of 
life, enter into the marriage relation wholly ignorant of them- 
selves as spiritual, immortal beings. A sense of absolute own- 
ership in each other, utterly regardless of the needs and duties 
of the unselfish higher nature of the soul, dominates every 
thought, until neither can trust the other out of their sight, and 
they make themselves wretchedly miserable if either merely ex- 
ercises the common amenities of friendship toward persons of 
the opposite sex. They continue in this error of the mortal 
mind until they become disgusted with themselves, and repul- 
sive to each other, and they fly asunder, through the divorce 
courts, to make themselves again miserable in some new alli- 
ance. There is no jealousy in true marriage. The love that 
is enduring is too pure and beautiful to admit of suspicion or 
jealousy. 



MOKE GOOD THAN APPEARS UPON THE SUKFACE. 



There is much more good in the hearts of men than al- 
ways appears upon the surface. They may seem cold and 
thoughtless of the welfare of others, and even indifferent to the 
ordinary appeals of charity ; but let some great calamity befall 
a community^some wide and fearful devastation by fire, flood,, 
famine, or pestilence, and straightway they become heroes.. 
Their hearts and purses are open to the cry of distress. The 
fact is, our business methods are calculated to close the aven- 
ues of sympathy to the needs and distress of others. The strife 



AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER? 23 

and struggle necessary to hold one's own in the competitive 
grab for even the humblest means of existence, all operate to 
dim the divine glow of humanity in the soul, and make us 
mean and unnatural. 



AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER 



That, Cain, is just what you are. When he is weak and 
you are strong, you owe him of your strength. When he would 
wander in by and forbidden paths, it is your duty to show him 
the better way. If you see a snare in his path that might 
cause him to stumble, it is a crime in you not to remove it. 
For what purpose, Cain, were you given superior wisdom or 
strength, but to assist those less endowed along the journey of 
life? But do you do it? See the multitude of young men 
sowing the seeds of disease and death in the thousands of liquor 
saloons in the land. What are you doing to save them? Are 
you not responsible for those deadfalls in licensing them to sell 
poison to those young men ? Behold the wretchedness, misery 
and crime all around, the results of man's weakness and cupid- 
ity. Are you sure that your skirts are free from all responsibil- 
ity for this condition of things ? These are serious questions, 
Cain, and they appeal to you for an answer. You cannot 
escape your duty and responsibility in these matters any more 
than you did that fearful homicide you tried to conceal with 
the evasive question, with which we commence this fragment. 



LOVE ALONE THAT SAVES. 



One may belong to all the churches in the land ; he 
may keep all the Sundays and holy days in the calendar ; he 
may even abstain from the use of meat on Fridays, and if he be 
not charitable and have love in his heart for his fellow men, it 
will avail him nothing in the life to come. And so, after all, 
it is love that saves, and not the ordinances of the Church. 



24 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

Then why not dispense with all ecclesiastical machinery and 
appliances in the work of salvation, and depend upon love 
alone, which any one can have without the aid of priest or 
church. One doesn't need to "believe and be baptized" in 
order to be good ; he need subscribe to no creed or confession 
of faith in order to love his fellow men, bind up broken hearts, 
or minister to the wants of the needy. And that is all the 
religion that Jesus taught. 



SIX DOLLAKS A AVEEK ! 



That is the uniform wages paid to thousands of shop girls 
— clerks, cashiers, saleswomen — employed in this city of San 
Francisco ! (Many girls are obliged to work for much less.) 
And out of this munificent (?) income, these women are expect- 
ed to board and clothe themselves, and often to support an inval- 
id mother or sister, or perhaps take care of a family of their 
own? "Expected," did we say ? No; they are not "expected" 
to do anything of the kind. Their employers know that it can- 
not be done. At the lowest estimate, board of the very plain- 
est kind, and room rent, would absorb the. entire amount, 
leaving nothing for clothing, (and they must dress tidily,) or 
car fare (as they cannot always live near their work,) and 
nothing to make good lost time from sickness. This last is an 
important item, when it is borne in mind that many of these 
women are required to work from fourteen to sixteen hours a 
day, and often most of the time standing on their feet. What 
•right has society, that tolerates a system of competition in 
trade that makes such wrongs possible, to condemn these girls 
when they go astray? It will not do to blame their employers, 
for if they paid higher wages they would be undersold and 
driven to the wall by their neighbors across the way. The 
fault is with the system that places every man's hand at the 
throat of his neighbor ; and, as always, the wrong falls heaviest 



COARSENESS. 



2 5 



upon the weakest, woman, in this case, is necessarily the 
greater sufferer. In the light of these facts, should we not hail 
the day when Bellamy's dream of the future, or something like 
it, shall become a reality ? The life we are living is the strug- 
gle of hungry dogs for a bone, when there is an abundance for 
all, if we only go to work right to obtain it. 



COARSENESS. 



It cannot be other than a coarse nature that would need- 
lessly wound another in his cherished religious opinions. Thus, 
to ridicule what another has been taught to believe as sacred — 
the Bible, the Church or the Christian religion — indicates a 
great lack of refinement, as well as of that thoughtful consid- 
eration of another's feelings which always ought to belong to 
the true gentleman. Such manifestations of coarseness, wheth- 
er from the public platform, through the public paper, or in 
private conversation, always arouse a feeling of disgust in the 
reader or listener. If such offences against good taste, and 
ordinary common sense, are offered for the mere purpose of 
insulting or humiliating another, we can only pity the perpetra- 
tor as a shameless blackguard, but if done with a view to com- 
pel or induce one to change his opinions, we would suggest that it 
is the very worst possible way to accomplish the desired result. 
No man was ever converted by ridicule or abuse. 



KINSHIP OF HUMANITY. 



The kinship of humanity ! By what indissoluble ties are 
we not linked to each other and to the entire race — rich and 
poor, prince and peasant, black and white! The same in 
physical structure, and the same, in degree, in all the passions, 
impulses and emotions of the soul — hope, love, memory, 
anger, joy, hate, envy, jealousy, benevolence, kindness — all in 



26 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

one and one in all, more or less developed in each, but enough 
in each individual to make each one an epitome of all human- 
ity. If we know ourselves thoroughly we shall thereby under- 
stand mankind generally — what is best for their advancement, 
and how best to touch the secret springs that uplift the lowly. 
We should never drift away from this thought of universal kin- 
ship ; we cannot if we would ; for Nature steps in with its con- 
stant reminders of sickness and sorrow, pain and misfortune, 
and finally with that all potent and universal leveler, Death, to 
teach us the oneness of humanity. Think not, ye proud and 
haughty ones of earth, that wealth or station are yours of 
right ; for there comes a time when you must descend from all 
worldly fortune or eminence, and take your place with the low- 
liest of earth — in the grave. The King will furnish no dain- 
tier morsel for the worm than the beggar. Know, then, that 
true and lasting preferment can be attained only in proportion 
as we love our fellows, and kindly help the weak and erring 
over the rough places of life. 



INTELLECTUAL SLEDGEHAMMERS. 



And now comes " John Ward, Preacher," on the heels of 
" Robert Elsmere," to stagger the faith of thousands in the cruel 
and unnatural dogmas of ecclesiasticism. And so the leaven 
is working, and the churches will ere long swing into line, and 
join hands with all who have the love of humanity at heart. 
These intellectual sledgehammer blows must tell, for man is a 
reasoning being, and cannot always consent to accept the fool- 
ish fables that have been palmed off upon him by designing 
men as the truth, and which he has been taught that it is sin- 
ful to question. If God is love, as we are taught from the 
pulpit, how is it possible that he can create souls for eternal 
punishment, knowing that when he created them that that 
would be their inevitable doom? "The John Wards," and 



QUALITY OF GOODNESS. 27 

" Robert Elsmeres" of the churches, who have stumbled upon 
these questions, are bothering the preachers considerably about 
these days. 



QUALITY OF GOODNESS. 



What can there be in the quality of goodness possessed 
by the Christian, that is in any manner different from that 
possessed by the Atheist, the Spiritualist or the Jew ? Even 
take the church standards of goodness requisite to salvation, 
no churchman will pretend to say that they are in any respect 
different from the goodness practised outside of the church ; 
neither will he presume to say that there is any saving virtue 
in belief, or ordinances, separate from goodness. So, we are 
brought down to the simple proposition that if a man is saved 
for his good qualities within the church, he must also be saved 
for the same qualities out of the church. The conclusion is 
unavoidable. And then, what is salvation ? Is it, or can it 
be, anything more or less than the happiness which is the nat- 
ural outcome of a well ordered life ? If the infidel lives to 
bless the world with loving thoughts and kind acts, surely the 
Christian could do no more. Hence, in the Court of Eternal 
Justice both would be entitled to the same reward. 

It is far better to be educated to a life of usefulness, no 
matter how humble, if honorable and worthy, and earn your 
way through the world, than to carry a diploma from some 
college in your pocket, and live on your friends. Culture is a 
good thing to have if the brain is of the right quality to profit 
by it. Many a man who would have made a good mechanic 
or tradesman, or manual laborer of some sort, has been spoiled 
by too much culture, or perhaps we should say false education, 
and educated out of all usefulness to himself or the world. 
You can't make a razor out of a piece of hoop iron, but you 
may spoil a good hoop trying. 



28 SPIRITUAL ERAGMENTS. 

INFANT DAMNATION. 



There is not a Presbyterian clergyman in existence, who 
would dare to stand before an intelligent audience of the pres- 
ent day and preach the doctrine of infant damnation. And 
yet that is a part of the creed of election, or pre-destination as 
published to the world in their Westminster Catechism. The 
clergy do not believe it, they dare not preach it, and yet they 
subscribe to it. Is this fairly honest? Jonathan Edwards, 
one of the fathers of the Presbyterian Church, taught the doc- 
trine of election with an unction and vehemence that sent a 
shudder of horror through the heart of humanity; and the 
great lights of Puritanism held that no man could be saved un- 
til he was willing to be damned for the glory of God ! The 
church is getting over such monstrous conceptions of the Infinite 
Father. 

LIFE AND DEATH. 



How beautiful is life! To the child so full of innocent glee;, 
to the young man so bright with promise ■ to the middle-aged,, 
so rich in fruition, if rightly lived ; to the aged so encompassed 
with the smile of Infinite Love and so joyous with fond antici- 
pation of the life beyond ! How brief at most, and yet how full 
of rich experience ! This is a good world to live in ; but for 
the burdens of time — the infirmities of age — we should never 
want any other ; at least we should be content to wait a long 
time for the next. In proportion as we make the best use of this 
life will we be prepared to get the truest enjoyment out of the 
next. And then no one need be troubled about the next life. 
If he lives to do good, and make others happy here — if he fill 
the air around him with the aroma of kind thoughts and loving 
deeds — he will find everything to his liking "over there." 

How beautiful is death ! The tired nerves have become in- 
sensible to pain; the sorrow of parting is over; consciousness 



A CALIFORNIA WINTER. 2Q 

is enfolded in sleep ; angel lullabys fill the dreaming soul with 
a soft melody of bliss! And now so gently — so very gently — 
the spirit is withdrawing itself from its environment of matter, 
— from the old worn out body — inward from the extremities, 
and outward through the spiritual brain. What a wonderful 
change is this ! They are there, the loved ones appointed to 
be present at the second birth and receive the newly born spirit. 
How carefully they watch its reorganization just above the still 
body ! How eagerly they note its first indication of conscious- 
ness ! If enfeebled with a long illness, the spirit, sympathizing 
with its earth condition, may require rest for many days, as 
we measure time, ere it come to a consciousness of the great 
change. In all this how beautiful ! The bud expanding into 
the full blown rose is not more so. What a delightful study it 
must be to those upon the other side, though mixed with tears 
of sympathy for mourning friends here. To many of us that 
glorious change is near hand. 



A CALIFORNIA WINTER. 



Now comes the beautiful dreamy days of our California 
Winter, (Nov. 16th. ) The cold winds that so long have 
swept down from the North, are lulled to gentle zephyrs, and 
the budding hopes of a new year are everywhere apparent. 
The bare, brown hills, that seemed so desolate and desert-like dur- 
ing the later Summer and Autumn months, are already clad 
with a rich mantle of green, and will soon blossom into purple and 
yellow with myriads of wild flowers. No fierce blasts of East- 
ern Winters here; no dreadful winding sheets of ice and snow. 
Our rivers run joyfully to the sea. The air is soft with mellow 
haze, and fragrant with the freshness of Spring. The birds are 
nesting in the trees, and tender flowers bloom all around and 
through the Winter months, as during the Summer. What a 
land of beauty and of grandeur is this, our loved California. 



30 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

THINGS THAT WEALTH CANNOT PURCHASE. 



There are many things that wealth can purchase to minis- 
ter to the pleasures and needs of the mortal ; but the things 
that concern us most it can not buy, and therein the poor man 
is the peer of the prince. It can not command any sweeter 
sleep nor any better digestion than that enjoyed by the home- 
less tramp. It can not purchase health, nor hope, nor happi- 
ness. It can not avert death. That which many a rich man 
would give millions to possess— a sound pair of lungs, or kid- 
neys, or a well ordered heart or liver — many a reader of these 
Fragments is richer than a very Yanderbilt in. And so, after 
all, how empty and unsatisfactory a thing is wealth, especially 
when the shadow of sickness falls across one's path, or the 
rider upon the Pale Horse appears in sight. We are none of 
us as poor as we might be, even though the sod were our only 
pillow, and our roof the starry canopy of night. He, the gentle 
teacher of Nazareth, " had not where to lay his head," and yet 
He possessed all wealth. 



THE CHRONIC GROWLER. 



The chronic growler — we find him almost everywhere, 
wherever men and women congregate. He is never satisfied 
with his surroundings; something is always wrong with him, 
and he is not backward in showing it, and thereby striving to 
make others as uncomfortable as himself. If at the table, his 
food is never properly cooked or served ; if in the public con- 
veyance, the managers and servants are sure to come in for a 
measure of his execrations ; if at the communion table, he 
would remember with disgust the quality of bread and wine. 
Such a man should never marry, or if he does his wife should 
be made of that sterner stuff capable of taking the growl out of 
him on his first attempt to practice it. 



VALUE OF PHENOMENA. 3 1 

VALUE OF PHENOMENA. 



It is nonsense for lecturers on the philosophy of Spiritual- 
ism to under-estimate the importance of spirit phenomena in 
the work of bringing the world to a knowledge of the 'truth. 
Man must first be convinced of the truth of Spiritualism before 
he will listen to the philosophy thereof. You may talk forever 
about the continued existence of the spirit of man beyond the 
grave, but unless you can and do prove it, the intelligent skep- 
tic will only laugh at you for your presumption. Take test 
mediumship out of the Cause, and all lecturers on the philoso- 
phy of Spiritualism would have to close up their halls, and 
turn their attention to some other pursuit as a means of live- 
lihood. The spiritualistic press, now all too poorly supported, 
would have to surrender to the inevitable and quit. Give us more 
mediums of this class, and better ones, if possible. They are 
the foundation stones, and the pillars, that uphold the temple 
of Spiritualism. 

GRAVITATION. 



What slaves to gravitation we all are while imprisoned in 
these mortal bodies ! A bird with wings weighte d with lead 
would not be more so. True, we have harnessed steam and 
electricity into our service, and journeys of months have, with- 
in the last few years, been reduced to days, still we must ever bear 
the heavy load of a cumbersome body, while on this, plane of 
life. But won't it be grand when the spirit can master space 
entirely, and on the electric car of thought can flash away to 
the most distant star, and in an instant of time ? We do not 
apprehend that it is possible for all spirits to take such mighty 
flights, if indeed any can. Those of the planet earth may not 
be able to go beyond our own solar system, which contains 
fields of space quite broad enough to satisfy any ordinary taste 
for traveling. We know that disembodied spirits can move 



32 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

over the face of the earth with the rapidity of thought, and 
that some are permitted to go on long journeys to other planets 
of our system. The power to accomplish such marvels of loco- 
motion must be a source of amazing delight to the spirit. 

ENLIGHTENED THOUGHT. 



The drift of enlightened thought is in the direction of ab- 
solute infidelity to all man-made creeds — to everything that 
hampers the freest investigation of all things relating to man's 
present and future welfare. The old ecclesiastical bugbear, 
"Believe or be damned/' no longer frightens anybody. The 
people have come to see that it is only a scarecrow with an 
imitation gun. Thus, from one position to another, have they 
advanced, until the intelligent world has come to see that 
the whole plan of salvation, with all of its dogmas of God and 
the devil, the creation and fall of man, the vicarious atone- 
ment, heaven and hell, etc., are only the foolish fancies and 
fictions of undeveloped minds, which must be swept aside for 
something higher and better : and that the only things in the 
traditions of the church worth preserving, and of which the 
church even has never been overstocked, is love, the all- 
potent factor in man's redemption and exaltation. 



When we remember the centuries of fierce theological 
teaching to which the race has been subjected, we can but 
wonder that there are so many good people in the world 
as there are — so many generous hearted and sympathetic 
people. The thoughts of an all-loving purpose in creation, and 
that all seeming evil is but undeveloped good that will disap- 
pear with man's spiritual unfoldment, is but just dawning upon 
the world. It is breaking in streams of roseate light all around 
the sky, and the dark shadows of Omnipotent wrath are 
rapidly melting away. 



A LOST FORTUNE. 33 

A LOST FORTUNE. 



That was an odd and somewhat suggestive way of stating 
the case, as w r e read the other day in a smart newspaper — 
"Henry R. Simpson lost two million dollars last evening in 
"less than a minute — from heart disease.*' It was a great mis- 
fortune to Henry Simpson, that he should have had that 
amount of money to lose, for what else does any rich man, 
who does nothing for the world, do with his money when he 
dies but lose it? The only way not to lose it is to make a good 
use of it before he dies. If he leaves it for imprudent and un- 
thrifty heirs to squander, he not only loses it, but he does them 
an incalculable mischief as well. If man were to live on this 
plane forever, and especially if the infirmities of age should 
render it impossible for him to acquire more, there might be a 
good reason for his holding on to all he could get; but old age 
should remind him that he is about through with this mortal 
existence, and that the time is at hand when he will no longer 
have any use for money, or property of any kind. There is 
nothing so tests the quality of a rich man's nature, as the ap- 
peal of approaching dissolution, to "render unto C?esar the 
things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things which are 
God's." Governor and Mrs. Stanford, guaged by this test, are 
not found wanting ; neither is Eunice S. Sleeper, nor other roy- 
al souls we could name. 



" No man can be wise without love, and no woman can 
truly love and not be wise,'' so says Ernst von Himmel, in his 
new and charming book, " The Discovered Country." Wisdom 
and love must go through life hand in hand, or there is no real- 
ity or happiness in either. All of the inharmony growing out 
of perverted love results from the absence of wisdom. In the 
life beyond they understand these things better than they do 
here. 



34 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

DESTRUCTION OF INNOCENT LIFE. 



What preverted taste — what cruel ideas of pleasure, men 
have who destroy harmless birds, for the mere love of killing. 
Of all this cruel pastime, that of trap shooting seems the most 
heartless and diabolical. The most harmless of birds, usually 
the dove or wild pigeon, is placed in a small box, from which 
by means of a trap door and string, it is sent forth into its na- 
tive air, only to fall bleeding and dying at the hand of some 
savage lout, who stands ready, with gun in hand, to kill. And 
this is sport ! If there was such a place in the universe as a 
bottomless pit and a personal Devil, and the latter should lay 
in wait by the mouth of the former, with his regulation pitch" 
fork and pitch the unwary trap shooter therein, at the first op- 
portunity, could any one be blamed for objecting, — that is, if 
there was a way provided for pulling him out when he had 
properly profited by his experience? 



jo? 

EDWIN ARNOLD. 



No sweeter singer ever climbed the holy mount of song 
— none ever swept the lyre to a grander purpose, than Edwin 
Arnold, author of "Light of Asia." His poetry is full of soul, 
as well as of that nameless grace of art that rounds out every 
part, and stamps the seal of genius on each classic line. 
Schooled in the glowing imagery of the Orient, familiar with 
its deepest lore and oldest language, and yet an adept in 
all the sweet forms of English speech, he can play upon the 
deepest emotions of the soul with a master's hand. His "Good 
Night ! Not Good Bye," written in memory of his wife, who 
passed on to her home among the angels a few months ago, 
for tender pathos and exquisite sweetness of expression, has no 
equal in our language. No one can read such poetry with- 
out feeling himself drawn nearer to the heart of the Infinite 
Good. 



THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS. 35 

THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS. 



Selfishness is usually condemned unqualifiedly as a deplor- 
able vice, and yet we cannot see how, in the present incongruous 
condition of society, it can well be wholly dispensed with. 
There is a kind of ravenous selfishess that " wants the earth," 
which of course is a curse to the'world, and cannot be too loud- 
ly condemned. But the selfishness that prompts one to take 
good care of himself, and look out for the welfare of his fam- 
ily becomes a virtue under the existing social order. If one 
" sells all that he has and gives it to the poor," as Jesus sug- 
gested was a proper thing for a certain rich man to do in his time, 
there is a probability that in this day and generation, one would 
find himself, when too old to work for his daily bread, an in- 
mate of the poor-house. We could never see any virtue in 
poverty, at the same time who can but admire the sterling un- 
selfishness of the one who would share his last dollar with a 



suffering brother mortal. 



-tot- 



A GRAND HUMANITARIAN. 



That noble woman and grand humanitarian, Mrs. Leland 
Stanford, who, with her husband, has given vast sums for hu- 
manity's sake, is reported as saying that she hoped it might be 
her lot " to die poor." Ah, that is the sweetest poverty the 
world ever knew, that surrenders all worldly wealth for the 
good of others. How such deeds blossom into glory, and 
clothe the immortal spirit in raiment of light. The wealth that 
belongs simply to the things of time bears no comparison to 
the riches of the spirit. One is dross, the other pure gold — 
one the shadowy thing of a day, the other the substantial riches 
of eternity, that shall increase and grow brighter with the ages. 
Go on, royal souls; there is preparing for you a home in the 
life beyond, in comparison with which all earthly palaces are 
the veriest hovels. Only a few years hence, at most, and you 



36 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

will enter upon your possessions. Life will then have for you a 
meaning and a grandeur of which this life is but the faintest 
suggestion. How like unto Him who gave his all, even his 
life, for the good of others. 

+ n + 

+ o+ 

DEATH NATURAE AND PAINLESS. 



The thought of death is a great terror to many people — 
the thought that they must grow old and die, and their bodies be 
consigned to the grave. But why should it be ? In sleep the 
body simulates death in all except the physical awakening. 
The spirit passes out and into other scenes and enjoyments, 
and no doubt, often, to the companionship of spirits on the 
other side of life. We do not dread sleep ; why should we 
dread death, which is quite as natural and painless. Even 
were there no hope of a hereafter, there surely could be no de- 
sire to live, if life were unendurable from pain or other causes) 
But that which most reconciles one to endure the ills of time 
and the pains of sickness to the end, is the knowledge that the 
spirit needs all these experiences to best prepare it for the real- 
ities of the life to come. While no true Spiritualist has any 
doubts or misgivings as to the future, he is nevertheless willing 
to remain here his allotted time, and endure patiently until the 
end. 

OLD TRADITIONS. 



It appeals to us that our religious teachers spend altogeth- 
er too much time in studying the ancient writings which have 
been compiled into a book (millions say The Book), and alto- 
gether too little in studying themselves, and teaching the laws 
of life and health as they find them engraven on the tablets of 
their own constitutions. It would seem to be self-evident that 
whatever may be a revelation to one person, in a past age, can- 
not, in the nature of things, be a revelation to another person 



THE SHADOW OF ECCLESIASTICISM. 37 

in another age. We would not deprecate the grand precepts of 
life and duty embodied in the Christian Scriptures, although 
-we would much prefer to have said precepts and teachings dis- 
entangled from the mass of rubbish in which we find them 
involved ; still, there is so much we need to learn, of which the 
Bible tells us nothing, that it does seem as though some of the 
time spent in Bible-class and Sunday-school, as well as in 
church service generally, might better be devoted to lessons in 
liygiene and the science of right living. What better is a man 
off from listening to a sermon from a Second Adventist, on the 
destruction of the wicked, or a Calvinist on predestination, or 
infant damnation? What more does he know after being taught 
•the doctrine of three Gods in one, or the necessity of killing one 
of the three, which was the entire three, to satisfy the sense of 
justice of the other two, which was himself, as the only means 
■of saving man from the consequences of his imaginary fall ? 
In the light of the new truths now breaking upon the world, 
•these old traditions are fast fading away. 



THE SHADOW OF ECCLESIASTICISM. 



How dark the shadow of the grave that the Church has 
thrown across the pathway of human life ! Centuries of horror ! 
A world plunged into a vortex of everlasting woe, with no 
•escape except by a method repugnant to every honorable 
:soul ! No man can shirk the responsibility of his own sinful 
acts, in a vicarious way, without lowering himself, thoughtlessly 
it may be, in the estimation of every bright and manly intelli- 
gence in the universe. And then so very few, comparatively, 
are permitted to escape by " casting their sins upon Jesus." 
The great multitude, including mighty nations, cast into hell 
"because they reject a narrow, priest-made plan of salvation ! 
Great minds, like those of Edwin Arnold, Huxley, Humboldt, 
Spencer, Wallace, Darwin, and hosts of others, all consigned to 



38 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

eternal torment, because they have a grander conception of the 
Creator, and a truer appreciation of man's proper place in the 
universe, than to believe in the monstrous dogmas taught from. 
Christian pulpits today ! 



And yet, how the Church has garnered the spiritual' 
thoughts of millions of the human race. It contained all of 
spiritual truths they knew, cruel, despotic and vindictive as it 
often was, and on its altars, red at times with the blood of 
martyrs, has been laid the purest and holiest faith, the sweetest 
love, the most undying devotion of the human heart. How 
grandly have devout men and tender women gone to the stake, 
and amid the cruel flames that rioted through every avenue of 
mortal agony, sang hosannahs to the Lamb, the gentle Nazar- 
ene, in whom they placed their trust. No doubt that same 
Jesus was able, in many instances, through laws that Spiritual-' 
ism has revealed to the world, to sustain them in that mortal 
hour, and give them happy and painless exit from this world of 
sorrow. It is not the religion of Christianity that we condemn, 
by any means, but only the fungus growths of ignorance, bar- 
barism and superstition that have fastened to its vitals. 
JoJ 

THE TRUE HERO. 



He who gives himself up to the indulgence of aught that 
injures the body or degrades the spirit surrenders to the enemy 
without making his best fight. He virtually throws open the 
gates of the citadel and invites the enemy to enter in. Life is 
a constant struggle, and he only is the true hero who makes 
the most valiant defense of himself against all the encroach- 
ments of evil. Victory over self is within the reach . of every 
one. That some fail is simply because they do not do their best. 
And so they must needs try again, on another plane of exist 
ence, or perhaps on this. We may not know where ; but this. 
we know, the victory must be gained somewhere. 



SLEEP. 39 



Sweet sleep ! That comes like a balmy wave of forgetful- 

ness over the spirit, and all the troubles and cares of the day 

— its heartaches and sorrows— 

"Fold their tents like the Arabs, 
And as silently steal away !" 

O, beautiful Sleep ! Faint counterpart of death ! Blessed 
friend and comforter ! Who does not love to rest in thy shelt- 
ering arms ! When the shadows of night curtain the drowsy 
earth, and the stars come forth to hold their silent watch in the 
sky ; when the wanton bee, lawless ravisher of the flowers,, 
returns from his last flight at eve, and the mother bird gathers 
her brood under her faithful wing, — then the tired toiler in the 
field or by the forge, lays his burden down, and bows his head 
to thy gentle caress. And thus, on and on, day by day, till the 
last sleep shall come to the weary eye-lids, the sleep that knows 
no waking on an earthly morrow ! So may it come to the tired 
heart, stealing over the senses as gently as falls the summer 
dew, and all mortal pain shall be dumbed forevermore. 



MORAL DEATH. 



If all the people were buried who are dead the cemeteries 
would not be large enough to contain them, — that is, morally 
dead, which is simply indifference to the growth and needs of 
the spirit. When a man closes his heart to the appeals of his 
sorrowing and suffering fellow beings, and lives simply in him- 
self and for himself, he is dead, and the sooner he is placed 
under the ground the better it will be for the living. There are 
other kinds of death than those followed by immediate decay of 
the physical body. Petre faction, crystallization, and stagnation 
of the spirit — what is this but death, and death in its most 
repulsive form. Blessed be the man that can rise superior to 
this kind of death. 



COLD COMFORT. 



The editor of Freethought is asked to publish a death 
notice of the little two year old son of a friend, with the added 
request that the editor would "add what consolation there 
may be to offer." Here is the proffered consolation (?) : 
"We can say that there is no consolation except the 
" knowledge that merciful Time may lessen the acuteness 
" of grief; that sorrow consumes itself at last; that whatever of 
"trouble might have been in store for the littleone, had he 
"lived, is spared him now." If we had nothing more to 
offer a stricken heart, we would ask to be excused and 
say nothing. Why will our freethought friends persist in 
repudiating evidence of the future life that is as palpable as 
sight, as positive as touch, and as clearly established as the 
proof of mortal existence — that is, to millions of the race. 
There is not a whit more improbability of a continued existence 
of the spirit of man beyond the confines of the grave, even 
were there no evidence of the fact, than there is that he exists 
here. There is no more mystery about the one life than the 
other. If there was no future life (and we know there is), 
then Nature is an infinite cheat, as far as man is concerned. 
She completes everything else she undertakes ; why should she 
make an exception of him? She brings him up to a point 
where his longing soul has just begun to aspire for knowledge, 
and then she snuffs him out of the universe ! No, no, neigh- 
bor ; you are on the wrong tack. 



-+o+- 



It is your small man that makes the greatest fuss about 
little things. He will fume and fret, and abuse his wife, about 
the loss of a gimlet, and work himself into a rage over trifles 
that would not ruffle the repose of one of larger capacity. No 
one, perhaps, can help being small, but surely he ought to be 
able to avoid showing it. 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 4 1 

MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 



How grand the prospect. Out from the caves of darkness 
and superstition — from crypts venerable with age and hoary 
with tradition — steps forth a beautiful maiden, radient with the 
light of a new day. Her name is Modern Spiritualism. In 
her hand she bears a banner on which are inscribed the words: 
"Love, the fulfillment of the law, the redemption of the race.'' 
She is greeted with derision by the conservatism of science, and 
the intolerance and bigotry of the Church. The respectable 
cowardice of the world gathers her garments aside to let her 
pass. But steadily onward, following the sunlight of Eternal 
Truth, she moves forward with the air and mien of an angel 
from the upper planes of life. And following her lead, behold 
the mighty hosts, coming up from all nations, and all walks o 
life ! The shackles are falling from their limbs — the scales 
from their eyes. Truly, the day of jubilee, the dawning of the 
new era, is at hand ! 

tot 

The heart that is not touched with pity at another's 
failings and weaknesses, as well as at his misfortunes, has only 
learned one-half of its lesson of humanity. What credit is it to 
you that you are not a beggar, a drunkard, or a thief ? Had 
you been fashioned of poorer stuff, and environed with 
wretched associations from infancy, then what? Be thankful 
for yourself, and press on in the better way. 

He who saves all his smiles and kind words for his neigh- 
bors, and bestows nothing but frowns and abuse upon his 
wife and children, has not yet learned the alphabet of life. 
He needs the chastening hand of some great sorrow to make 
his heart tender and teach him his duty to his family. Noth- 
ing so undermines the natural meanness of such a man, as the 
sight of the white, dead face of the wife, who, in his better mo- 
ments, has nestled lovingly in his arms. 



42 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

BRAINS. 



•'Blood will tell," is an old but somewhat inelegant adage, 
borrowed from the race-track. So will brains. If one expects 
to get the upper hand of the world, he must not imagine he 
can do so without an effort, nor that he can succeed without 
putting into vigorous exercise his keenest faculties. The num- 
ber of people "born with a gold spoon in the mouth," is very 
few. And even the pampered sons of wealth naturally find it a 
hard task to hold on to their possessions without brains. They gen- 
erally possess so many expensive vices that ere they are aware, 
they find themselves broken down in health, and their wealth 
scattered to the winds. It is an actual blessing to most people 
that they are born poor, that is, if they are naturally good for 
anything. They thereby acquire habits of thrift and economy 
most essential to health as well as to success in life. Where the 
material is bad it makes but little difference how they are born 
— rich or poor. They will be apt to make a bad job of it in 
any case. 

Kindness is the only true educator for an erring soul. 
You must develop his better nature — call forth the good there 
is in him — and the bad will naturally cease to manifest. You 
cannot do this by harsh words or cruel treatment. You can 
educate him in the better way only by the exercise of a tender 
sympathy growing out of a proper understanding of your rela- 
tions to each other. 

We pity the stricken one, who, standing by the open grave 
of his heart's idol, believes that "death ends all." O, the 
night of dark despair ! the impenetrable gloom of hopeless woe ! 
What ! Is such to be the horrible fruition of human love — of 
the tender yearning for another's welfare that reaches out to the 
very stars? No, no! the All-Father and Creator is no such 
monster. 



nature's lesson. z)3 

NATURE'S LESSONS. 



All nature is pointed with useful lessons for man's spiritual 
.and intellectual unfoldment, if he will but open his understand- 
ing to the meanings of her many voices. She pleads with him 
from the stars to look upward for light to guide him through 
the tangled ways of life, and lead him to his eternal home. 
She woos him from her mountain peaks of everlasting snows to 
pattern his character after their spotless whiteness. She 
invites him in the fragrance of the rose, in the murmur of 
the brook, and in the song of the birds, to make his own 
life rich with the aroma of good deeds, and melodious 
with the beautiful symphonies of loving fellowship with all 
that is good in earth and heaven. 



Leave the dead past alone in its sepulchre. Why chain 
the living with the dead — why tread forever its dismal vaults, 
feasting the soul on its cruel and bitter memories. If a friend 
"has wronged you, forget it ; if suffering has been your lot — 
— if misfortune and disappointment have shadowed your life 
— let it all go. Bury your ills, and resurrect your joys. Gather 
the lillies and roses wherever you find them, and tread the 
nettles and thorns beneath your feet. Life is too short to 
burden the spirit with unpleasant things. 

THERE IS NO DEATH. 



The lessons of our translated loved ones is that there is 
no death — that what seems so is only transition — the birth to 
a new life, as real, aye, far more real than this ; for here we 
bear the changing conditions of time — youth, with its bright 
hopes and golden dreams; manhood, with its fierce contests in 
the battle of life, its struggles with the busy world ; old age, if 
we have lived rightly, with its sheaves of ripened grain, its 
pleasant memories, and its calm outlook upon the future. But 



44 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

there, in that new life, these mortal changes and conditions do 
not exist. He who has profited by his earthly experiences, 
goes onward in the path of eternal progression, amid scenes 
and surroundings that are real and tangible to spirit sense. 
Here all is change. There is no permanency in matter. The 
hills wear away and melt into the sea : the rocks themselves 
crumble to ashes at the touch of time ; the " firm set earth''" is 
growing old, and in some distant aeon, will doubtless become a 
dead world to be buried, perhaps, in the bosom of the sun. 
Spirit is the eternal, unchanging substance, while matter is the 
evanescent shadow of things, upon every atom of which is 
written "change." 

It is a beautiful thing to grow in years gracefully and 
wisely — to carry down into the sunset of life the gentle graces 
and sweetness of a spirit enriched with good thoughts and noble 
.impulses. Age is not measured by years nor whitened locks, 
to one who lives rightly. The soul never grows old. It may 
lose its elasticity of expression through its worn out instru- 
ment ; the footsteps may become faltering and the voice feeble 
with time, but the soul is there just the same, with all its 
garnered earth experiences, all its lustre untarnished. It has 
only withdrawn a little within the veil, whence sooner or later 
it will step out into the open day of a new life. 

When Death comes to a good man or woman, in the full- 
ness of time, it comes as a welcome friend. One after another 
their hearts' treasures have been gathered to the" home of the 
spirit, and at last they stand alone, like ripened grain ready for 
the sickle. The struggle of active life is over ; the battle has 
been fought ; the world's stern work has passed into younger 
hands, and they stand alone with the evening's calm around 
them, and with ear bent for the sound of the boatman's oar 
that shall bear them over the silent waters. 

In proportion as the mind is empty of knowledge does it 
engage in the frivolities and little things of life. Show us 



GENEROUS DEEDS. 



45 



a gossiping scandal-monger, and we will show you a person 
with many rooms to let in the upper story. Imagine George 
Eliot, Alice Cary and R. W. Emerson crooning together and 
back-biting a neighbor across the street ! 



GENEROUS DEEDS. 



Like the fragrance of the flower exhales the aroma of 
kind thoughts and generous deeds. The soul shines out through 
the face, and radiates the very presence of a good man or 
woman. In their daily walks among their fellows they shed 
blessings on every hand. They have gentle words of sympathy 
for the suffering, kind deeds for the needy, and are ever, like 
their great Teacher, the beautiful Christ, offering the waters of 
life to him that is ready to perish. This is the kind of hu- 
manity that must supplement the multitudes of selfish and 
soulless men and women, now existing upon the earth before 
the figurative New Jerusalem, the city of God and his angels, 
foreshadowed in the Apocalypse, can come down out of heaven 
and become the everlasting abode of the saints — of the " spir- 
its of just men made perfect." Let the good not grow weary. 
The millennium is slowly but surely coming. Centuries are 
but moments in the reckoning of eternity. 



INVOCATION. 



Infinite spirit of Nature, thou that pervadeth the universe 
of matter, quickening into life and being all forms of beauty 
— radiating in the sunlight, blossoming in the flowers, filling the 
air with melody in the song of birds and the murmur of brooks ; 
— thou that art everywhere and all things — in the pains of 
motherhood, in helpless infancy, in the joy and gladness of 
youth, in the struggles and trials of manhood, in the bowed form 
and feeble step of old age, in the sinking pulse of death; — 
thou that holdest the universe in thy keeping, and in the 



46 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

mighty sweep of suns and constellations, filleth immensity with 
glory — may we not feel that we are a part of thee, and realize that 
thy infinite purpose in us is that we may become like unto thee in 
all symmetry and beauty of spirit, in all nobility of character, 
in all grandeur of goodness. May thy ministering spirits from the 
shining shores of immortal life, touch all hearts with a tender 
sympathy for those that suffer, and kindle anew in each soul a 
firmer purpose to subdue all the lesser good in the undeveloped 
nature, and to rise to the higher planes of being, where all is 
honor, and purity, and true manliness of soul. And thus we 
will ever pray. 



The mole burrowing in the dark earth, the thistle down 
floating on the summer breeze, the rootlet of the plant groping 
for moisture and nutrition, — all are moved by a divine energy, 
the same that called the world into existence, and bespangled 
the infinite spaces of ether with star gems. 



WHAT WERE YOU MADE FOR ? 



Young man, would you make your life, financially or other- 
wise, a success ? Find out as early as possible in your career, 
what vocation, or art, or line of life, you are best suited for, 
and then pursue the object persistently and zealously to the 
end. Turn neither to the right nor the left, but press on to 
the goal of your ambition, and you will surely win. It is the 
undecided, irresolute man, one who is "everything by turns, 
and nothing long," that fritters away his young manhood, and 
his maturer years, and ere he is aware of it old age creeps up 
on him, and finds him with nothing done. But he must re- 
member that in pursuing his object, whatever it may be, he 
should consider the needs of his spiritual nature. " Man can- 
not live by bread alone." He needs other aliment to round 
out his character and make him the complete man he should 



EVER AND FOREVER. 



47 



be. This spiritual culture should interblend with his business 
pursuits, and go hand in hand therewith. It should be remem- 
bered that some of the grandest successes in life were of men 
who could never find time to acquire wealth. 



EVER AND FOREVER. 



The old orthodox idea of eternal punishment — of never 
throughout all the countless ages of eternity, giving the once 
mortal sinner a chance for repentance or reform ; but ever and 
forever holding him to the rack of unforgiving agony for wrongs 
done — is not, surely, the true spiritualistic idea of making the 
world better. And yet some there be who would ransack the 
earth to find some blemish in one's character and conduct — 
no matter how long repented of, or condoned by subsequent 
good conduct — to condemn him, in the eyes of an uncharit- 
able world, and bring him to mortal disgrace and ruin. In 
the eternities we would rather be such a wrong doer than his 
unmerciful judge. 

There are two standards of judgment among men con- 
cerning their fellow men — one to regard every man a rogue 
until proved honest ; the other, to look upon all as honest un- 
til they demonstrate in their lives and conduct that they are 
unworthy of confidence. This seems to be the better way, 
and we would apply the same rule of judgment to mediums for 
spirit communion. 

A bad digestion and a diseased liver have turned many a 
very fair article of Christian into a confirmed cross-patch and 
wretched human porcupine. It takes a fine quality of spiritual 
grace and goodness to enable one thus afflicted to turn- the 
better side of his nature to the sunlight; thus, when your 
enemies abuse you charge it to their deranged internal econo- 
my and pass on. 



48 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

SUSTAINING GRACE OF SPIRITUALISM. 



"But for the sustaining grace of Spiritualism/' remarked 
a stricken brother to us the other day — one who had recently 
been called to part with the mortal companionship of a dearly 
loved wife — " I should at once follow her to the grave." But 
now he knows of a verity that it is her wish that he shall stay 
till his work is finished ; he knows that his angel is ever near 
him, giving him the assurance and sweet satisfaction of her 
loving sympathy, and that she will be there to greet him when 
he shall lay aside the mortal. And so he will walk bravely to 
the end. His anchor is cast, sure and steadfast, within the 
veil, and his eternity of hope and unending love is begun. 



He who seeks for the highest and best in his own life is 
sure to find it. He will certainly develop those spiritual fac- 
ulties in his nature that will draw him nearer to the divine life. 
But to do this, he must rise above all unkind thoughts, all 
domination of evil, into an atmosphere of unselfishness and 
harmony. He must "enter the path" and "live the life." 
Then will peace, like a river, flow into his soul, and happiness 
and rest — the rest of persistent endeavor for the welfare of 
others — be his forevermore. 



■H- 



The crowded streets ! What a medley of humanity ! 
Eager faces, glad faces, puzzled faces ; faces sodden with dissi- 
pation and distorted with crime ; thoughtful, frivolous, wicked 
faces ; young and joyous faces, wrinkled and careworn faces, 
loving and gentle faces — how they meet and mingle and flash 
by me, an unceasing, ever-changing kaleidoscope of humanity 
— never the same and yet always the same ! Where will 
all these faces be ere long ? All gazing upward with sightless 
eyes. A generation passes away and a new one takes its place, 
and the world moves onward without a break. 



» 



opposition. 49 

opposition. 



After all, what effect has opposition upon Spiritualism — 
what the ignorant abuse by pulpit and press — but to advertise 
it to the world, and make for it new friends ? Hasn't such 
been the case with all new systems of religion and philosophy, 
in all times, the world over ? The church once sought to pun- 
ish heresy with the faggot and the rack ; but did the crop of 
heretics become any less ? Did the pagan persecution of the 
early Christians have any other effect than to fire the hearts 
of the votaries of that religion with additional zeal ? So is it 
with Spiritualism. " Let the heathen rage against us ;" it brings 
us strength. Woe unto our cause when it is no longer consid- 
ered worthy of abuse. 



Slain again and again in the house of its friends, defiled 
by its ministers, waylaid, and beaten down, and robbed in high 
places, nevertheless our beautiful Spiritualism still lives. It 
comes forth bleeding but never crushed from every disaster, to 
grapple again and again with error, and win men to a belief in 
the glorious truths of immortality and the higher life. It per- 
vades many homes where love dwells, and where it has erected 
its holy altars, before which the inmates gather in sweet and 
reverent devotion. The storm of fierce opposition but gives it 
new strength, treason in its councils, and betrayal of its sacred 
trusts, but add to the potency of its energizing forces to sub- 
due the hearts and understandings of men, and bring the two 
worlds together in one mighty purpose to uplift and ennoble 
humanity. 

When will man learn that all bitterness, rancor, unkind- 
ness — that all manner of ungenerous thought and feeling — 
are but clogs and bars to the spirit's advancement and growth. 
And then these moods of minds grow upon what they feed, 
until all the springs of charity and gentleness, that ought to 



50 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

gush forth in every human nature, are dried up, and the fallow 
ground of the heart becomes parched and arid as a desert 
waste. What a dark and wretched karma some people are 
creating to carry with them to the other life. The lesson of 
love and good will should be learned here, and not wait till we get 
"over there/' 



THE ONE BRIGHT STAR. 



Spiritualism is the one bright star that shines down into 
the stricken heart, radiating the entire being with the light of 
peace and hope. It spans the river of death with a rainbow 
arch of glory, along which tread the shining feet of angels. It 
broadens our outlook upon the physical plane of life and en- 
ables us to realize that it "is not all of life to live, nor all of 
death to die."' Before this new light, now streaming into the 
hearts and homes of humanity, the hideous phantoms of a 
false theology, founded in the barbarism of the race, must flee 
away. "The bottomless pit," like the great maelstrom of the 
Northern Coast, has been found to be a myth — the " impassi- 
ble gulf " a hideous fantasy of a distorted brain. Spiritualism 
gives us a Being of infinite love at the head of the universe, 
and not a monster of implacable hate, who will "laugh at our 
calamitv and mock when our fear cometh." 



The nightmare of the soul, has it not been, through all 
the ages — the theology of Christianity ? It has taught the sep- 
aration of kindred souls for all eternity, and furrowed out of 
space an infinite vortex of everlasting woe for the ignorant and 
undeveloped. It demands what is an impossibility to many 
intelligent minds, under pain of eternal banishment from hap- 
piness, and then asks us to render to such a Being the love 
and worship of our souls ! Not such the God whom Spiritual- 
ists would adore. 



MY SOUL AND I. $1 

MY SOUL A^D I. 



Fragments from a Sunday Outing-. 



I have wandered forth, this beautiful Sunday morning 
(July 2 1 st, 1889), from the quiet country home of my friends, 
Mrs. S. M. Nunn and her gifted artist daughter, Miss Ella 
(where the writer and niece are spending a few restful days) — 
have strolled forth, my soul and I, to hold communion with 
nature, among some of her wildest and most beautiful forms. 
Here are dense forests, deep and dark ravines, mighty masses 
of rocks, towering redwoods, and rippling streams. Here, 
also, are sloping hillsides, and wide stretches of fertile vales, all 
combining to make as rare and lovely a picture as any that 
can be found elsewhere, even in this land of nature's wonder- 
ful variety and beauty, (California.) What a home for an ar- 
tist or a poet, and what a charming place for a brief outing 
from the noisy city ! 



Among the hills, the grand old hills, for two glad days. 
The air is pure and soft, and fragrant with the odors of the fir 
and the laurel, and the breath of wild ferns aud climbing vines, 
while the purling brook at my feet makes laughing melody 
among the rocks. A great silence broods the earth, save the 
sharp hum of the bee on its errand of sweetness, and the chirp 
to the brown linnet on yonder branch. Have no fear, little 
mother, your tiny brood is safe. I am here to sit with you at 
the feet of our common mother, to gather strength and courage 
for other struggles. So, go on with your housework, my timid 
little friend. Your being's end and aim is complete in rearing 
your young brood. But you have a little time, now and then, 
to spare for a song of joy to gladden other lives ; and so we 
take heart of you. Nature has fulfilled her purpose in you, 
and you are happy, except when some great shadow falls across 
your life, as now; and I am that shadow. I'll move farther 
up the brook, and leave you at your task. 



$2 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

The cattle grazing on yonder hillside — they are not 
troubling themselves about the ownership of the lands upon 
which they feed ; nor whether they are mortgaged or not ; nor 
whether one of their number is richer or better than another. 
They do not chafe their souls in prayer for better pastures by 
and by ; nor do they worry over their sins ; nor are they con- 
cerned about their respectability. They do not sell rum to 
other cattle, nor do they organize great trusts to rob their fel- 
lows of a fair share of food. They are not troubled about the 
ownership of houses, or lands, or bank accounts, to leave to 
their heirs ; nor do they ever die of Bright's disease from im- 
prudent habits. Not one of them uses tobacco in any form, 
nor slanders his neighbors, nor lays awake nights planning how 
he can get the best of a bargain. They have no use lor law- 
yers, or doctors, or preachers. Happy brutes ! 



Will she not come to you, pretty dove, at your plaintive 
call? Surety, it was not always thus ? I remember with what 
joy your heart was filled in the golden days when your wedded 
life began. The world was very bright and fair before you 
then. You thought you would never weary of each other's at- 
tentions. You floated in a fairy shallop on a sea of golden dreams. 
But care and toil and anxiety came, and left their furrows in 
your heart ; and then, neglecting the growth of your spirit, you 
became worldly-minded and sordid ; your heart grew cold and 
indifferent towards your mate. She drooped for a while, and 
then a beautiful light shone in her eyes one day, and she un- 
furled her wings and flew away to the sweet Summerland. And 
now, sad and lonely (for you loved her better than you knew), 
you sit and mourn all the day long for a joy that is dead. Quit 
that nonsense. Be a happy dove again in striving to make 
amends for the past by helping to assuage the griefs of other 
mourning doves, and by sharing in their burdens, ever remem- 
bering that she waits for you in that better land. Now, get 



MY SOUL AND I. 



53 



thee out of the shadow and into the sunshine, and cease that 
sad refrain. 



Ah, little bright eyes ! Who are you, scudding along the 
•dead branch, in your brown dress, and peering askance at this 
intruder? Haven't you something gayer for your Sunday at- 
tire, or don't you care? Are you not aware that all over this 
great earth evangelical Christianity is teaching, from tens of 
thousands of pulpits, that a peculiar sanctity attaches to this 
day, because the Maker of the heavens and the earth, after six 
■days' labor at world-building, rested on the seventh ? What 
right have you, little lizard, to be breaking the Sabbath in this 
way? Now, don't look at me in that quizzing kind of way, as 
though you would say, What do you know about it? (Hon- 
-estly, we know nothing, but then we preachers think we do.) 
You needn't tell me that God never rested, that the work of 
•creation is going steadily forward from eternity to eternity, and 
that all days are alike holy? Doesn't the Book say otherwise? 
Get thee hence from off that log, and leave me to my medi- 
tations. I will not listen to thee. 



" God wants a little fun once in a while, dosen't he ?" 
•queried a nice little boy of his mother the first time he ever 
saw a dude. So it would seem, for some of his creations are 
•surely suggestive of the ludicrous. See with what gorgeous 
apparel, what colors rivaling the ocean's blue or the rainbow's 
marvelous dyes, he bedecks some of his creatures. Take that 
rare little tid-bit of a humming-bird, flitting among the flowers 
•of the wild rose bush just upon the bank above me. What a 
little flashing gem of light and beauty it presents to the eye ! 
Ah, what is this but one of God's bits of pleasantry, uttered to 
-amuse me? So of many quaint and beautiful shapes of bird 
and flower. In fact, all nature is bubbling over with mirth for 
our delight, when we would have it so. 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



The mountains ? How they appeal to us to come up 
higher ! How proudly they lift their mighty crests to the heav- 
ens, as though they were the monarchs of the earth and sea I s 
Behold them from afar ! Seamed and gullied though their 
rugged sides may be with the attrition of ages of storm and 
melting snow, there upon their placid brows sits enthroned the 
majesty of eternal repose. Volcanoes may rage within their 
bosoms, and earthquakes struggle and gasp at their feet, still 
they stand forever as mighty finger-posts pointing the way up- 
ward to the All-Good. O mountains, grand and glorious, I 
love you ! Let me rest in your arms for aye, and dream, and 
dream. 

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods," sang Byron,. 
and so there is ; but, until one can find time to make new and 
better paths, it were wiser that one keep in the old ones. To 
be torn and wounded by briars, to lose one's way among the 
thick furze, and all to accomplish nothing, is not well. Some 
would-be reformers work on this principle. They step out from 
the old paths, and slash around in the brush of new ideas, 
without any other purpose, seemingly, than to get themselves; 
into a great sweat, and think thereby they are opening up a 
better way of life and thought for those who are to follow 
them. Until one can say, I have found the better way, he 
should advise no one to follow him. It is true that we must 
first tear down before we can build anew, still we should re- 
member that we may need a shelter in the meantime. An old 
house and a leaky roof are better than none at all in a storm. 



What a rollicking good time we have had, my soul and I,. 
out here in these vast depths of shadow, in these grand old 
woods ! How we have romped among the birds and brooks, 
and drank our fill of the divine nectar that dreams are made 
of. And now the night steals on apace, whose early morning 
sun will light us on our way back to the great city and to the 
sober realities of a busy life. Good night ! 



WHERE RESPONSIBILITY LIES. 55 

WHERE RESPONSIBILITY LIES. 



Every act of our lives — every thought of good or evil — leaves 
its impress upon the spirit, moulding, and shaping it for the life 
of the spirit within other and finer environments, in that world 
"beyond the river." Thus it is that we make ourselves what 
we really are. We shall be grand and radiant in that new life 
— the fit companions of grand souls, — or we shall grovel in the 
slums of the hells we have created for ourselves, just as we will. 
But, it may be asked, Is the spirit wholly responsible for its 
mortal expression ? We would answer, Most certainly not, 
Neither is the child responsible for its carelessness in falling 
into the fire, but it must suffer the pain of the burn all the 
same. We are not responsible for inherited tendencies to evil, 
nor for the bias of early erroneous education, but we suf- 
fer from their impress upon our natures just the same as though 
we were. 

POVERTY OF RICHES. 



"I never felt so rich in all my life as now, and never had 
so little of this world's wealth," said a grand, good woman in 
our presence the other day. It was the true riches of the spirit 
that she possessed — riches that " neither moth nor rust can de- 
stroy, nor thieves break in and steal." She is a woman in per- 
fect physical health, made so because of her harmonious life, and 
one who holds daily and almost hourly communion with the spirit 
world. The spirit of a beautiful girl, who passed to the other 
life in early infancy, now just developed into spiritual woman- 
hood, came into her life a few years ago, and now is her con- 
stant companion and friend, and the gentle guardian of her home. 
This spirit entrances her, and speaks through her lips, and is to 
her all that a loving daughter could be in spirit. Into the 
heart of this woman has been instilled the beautiful lessons of 
love, charity and true happiness. She has learned that there 



56 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



are riches of the soul, priceless jewels of wealth, with which 
naught of earth can compare. And these are the treasures 
that are filling her life with joy. 



He who is ever thinking evil of others must have that in 
his own nature to call forth like thoughts in the minds of his 
fellows. The mind is apt to dwell upon that of which it pos- 
sesses most. There is an old adage that "it takes a thief to 
catch a thief." We would that there were no thieves to catch, 
and none to catch them ! 

MOKE ! MOKE ! 



"More! More ! That was the sad refrain of poor Oliver 
in Dickens' touching story. It is the cry of the great world of 
humanity in its struggle for the things of earth. More land, 
more houses, more income ! Never contented or satisfied ; al- 
ways, as long as life lasts, seeking for more ! It is a preverted 
spirituality that prompts this unreasonable longing for temporal 
possessions. If men would put forth the same energy in the 
acquisition of the treasures of the spirit that they do to pile 
up worldly wealth, how grandly they would mount to the up- 
per heights of being — become gods, as it were, both in this 
world and the next. Thus they would build for eternity, 
whereas now they mostly build for time. 



HOAV TO MAKE SPIRITUALISM RESPECTABLE. 



If we would make Spiritualism respectable we must first 
learn to respect it ourselves. The world is full of erring and 
sinful ones. Some there are in our ranks, of the "holier-than- 
thou " kind, who delight in hunting out the erring and follow- 
ing them through life like sleuth hounds of perdition. Puffed 
up in their own conceit and oblivious of the beam in their own 



EARTH HOUND. 57 

eyes, they are ever on the hunt for the motes in their neighbor's 
eyes. And the fuss they make, and the dust they stir up would 
naturally lead the outside world to believe that Spiritualist are 
a very unsavory class of people ; when the fact is they are no 
worse than their defamers. What are a few dishonest or im- 
moral mediums and preachers, to the millions of believers in 
Spiritualism? Haven't all religions had their Judases? Why 
should we expect Spiritualism to be an exception to the rule? 
When we find a black sheep in the fold, is it highly important 
that we should parade it up and down the world, and keep at 
it, and after it, until by very force of habit and association we 
become black sheep ourselves ? Let us quit our groveling in 
the slums of pernicious thoughts ; let us learn to be amiable, 
at least, if we cannot always be just. 



EAKTHBOUND. 



One of the startling lessons we learn from spirit commun- 
ication is the suggestive one that countless multitudes of spirits 
on the other side of life are what is called " earthbound.'' 
That is, they are chained by an immutable law of their being 
to the conditions of life that environed them here. The dura- 
tion of this condition depends upon the state of spiritual un- 
foldment of the individual, and of the spirit's aptness to learn 
the law of progression, and tear itself away from its pernicious 
habits. A man, for instance, who has been a rumseller, under 
protest, as it were — following the business for a livelihood, 
while at the same time he despised it — will rise much more 
rapidly than one who followed it for the mere love of the vile 
traffic. The latter, together with the spirits of misers, or those 
who accumulated wealth on earth by dishonest practices, or by 
oppressing the poor, find themselves earthbound when they 
enter spirit life. They live and grovel in spiritual darkness 
near their old haunts, often for ages, or until they are ready 



SPIRITUAL ERAGMENTS. 



for advancement ; and then some gentle, guiding hand will 
come to them to assist them into the light. 



FREE THOUGHT. 



"Free thought!" Is such a condition of thought possi- 
ble ? Freedom to think is itself a condition of the brain, or of 
environment. Because we think differently from, or in oppo- 
sition to, other people is no indication that we are free to think. 
The free-thinker, so-called, is one who denies the possibility of 
the existence of any form of life independent of a physical 
body, or that is not tangible to the physical senses. In other 
words, his thoughts are the veriest slaves of matter. He can 
not think beyond matter. He is chained to the atoms of mat- 
ter that compose his material form, and there he must remain 
until enfranchised by the uplifting of his own spirit, or the dis- 
integration of death. To designate thought thus enslaved as 
free thought is a misnomer. Freedom belongs to the spirit, 
and is -something altogether superior to matter. To deny or 
make light of the " things of the spirit" is no more indicative 
of freedom to think than was the jeering of the slaves of super- 
stition that bound Bruno to the stake, or shouted, " Crucify 
him !" to the ignorant rabble that nailed lesus to the cross. 



CJLINGING TO LIFE. 



It is hard to let go and give up, for one who has been 
wholly wrapped up in the things of time and sense. This 
world is his all. His elegant home, his lands, his accumula- 
tions of wealth — how can he give them over to other hands 
who never toiled to win them ? Then life has been so sweet 
to him ; he has had such a good time ; and now he finds him- 
self slowly drifting away. Old age, that once seemed so far 
away, is at last upon him. His energies are waning, and he 



HUMILITY 



59 



realizes that he has nothing more to live for. But still he 
clings to life and to his possessions with a tenacity born of des- 
pair. If he could only turn his eyes from the past, away from 
the perishing baubles of time, and look forward to the life 
upon which he is about to enter ; if he could only realize that 
the spirit can soar best that is least encumbered, and that only 
his good qualities will be of any use to him over there, we 
think he would not be long in cutting himself loose from all 
that chains him to earth. 



HUMILITY. 



One of the essential conditions to spiritual growth is 
humility. " Unless ye become as little children," etc. And 
why not ? What is man that he should be puffed up with 
vanity or pride? Did he come into the world inheriting a fort- 
une accumulated by his ancestors ? A few years hence he 
will go out of it owning positively nothing — not even his coffin. 
Was he born to honor or fame ? A little while hence and not 
even the worms will respect his titles, even though he were a 
king. Is he the child of genius, swaying multitudes by the 
eloquence of his tongue or pen? Soon his right hand will 
lose its cunning, his voice be heard no more, and his ears will 
be deaf to the once welcome plaudits. And so, in all these 
things, wherein has man any "pre-eminence over the beast"? 
Should not this fact make him humble and modest in all his 
relations with the world ? Here we are all learners in the prim, 
ary school of life, and we know so very little of anything that 
we can hardly afford to consider ourselves great in any sense. 

Only as woman is exalted, honored and enlightened can 
we expect that the world can become better. As the mothers 
of the race, women are necessarily its saviors. The man who 
would speak slightingly of woman, or who would drag her 



60 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

down into the mire of his own lusts or evil thoughts, is a 
shame and disgrace to the mother who bore him. He should 
blush for his iniquities, and seek by the refining fire of disci- 
pline to purge himself thereof. Only the pure in heart are 
fitted for the companionship of good women. 
-^^-*. 

MISFORTUNE. 



Think you, tired heart, that there is no place in the world 
for you — no honest work, no way to earn even a humble live- 
lihood? You have tried, and tried, but nowhere do you find 
the door of opportunity open to you. You know you are 
deeply in earnest ; you know, also, that you have ability and 
could fill many a niche in life far more capably than some who 
are less worthy, and far less qualified. And yet you have 
to wait and wait, till your soul tires trying, and the clouds 
of misfortune seem to gather dark and thick over your spirit 
Ah! do you know 7 what misfortune is? — You, fair of form and 
features, with sound limbs and two good eyes and ears ? — You,, 
clad in comfort, and with a roof to shelter you ? — You, with the 
flush of health on your cheeks and the elasticity of a grand 
womanhood in your footsteps? In yonder hut lies a poor 
mother, with features pinched and pale, dying of consumption. 
The father of her helpless children — one a little crippled boy 
— is a victim of the accursed demon strong drink, and his 
humble earnings go to enrich the rum-seller. Come with me, 
let us together enter within. No carpet on the floor, and only 
a few articles of dilapidated furniture — nothing but squalor and 
rags ; and that poor, forsaken mother's life slowly fading away. 
O, it is a long, sad story — a story of woe and wretchedness in 
comparison with which yours is a dream of Paradise. Give 
her your rich sympathy and love, and you will forget yourself, 
— forget that you are poor, and that your lot is a hard one. It 
is thus, dear friends, that we mount as on eagle's wings, to the 
upper sky. 



A WELL ROUNDED LIFE. 6 1 

A WELL-ROUNDED LIFE. 



A well-rounded, harmonious life — a life devoted to kind 
thoughts and good deeds, no matter in how humble a w r ay — 
should be the highest aim of human existence. Such a life 
fills the measure of earthly experience necessary to prepare the 
spirit for a continuance of life on another plane of existence, 
upon which all must enter sooner or later. Here is something 
to strive for. How to make the most of this life, is a question 
that concerns all. But one must bear in mind that no life is com- 
plete that is not a foretaste of the higher life to come. Reader, 
take an account of stock with your own soul, and determine, if 
you can, if called hence to-day, just what, and how much, you 
could take with you. It would certainly require but little figur- 
ing to show you what you must leave behind. 



"How can I best and most completely adjust myself .to 
the universe?" should be the question that every intelligent 
mortal should ask of the divinity within his ow T n soul. He 
needs to know r w T hat he is here for — w r hat is meant in his crea- 
tion. His mortal life, he must realize, is but a point of time 
in which to prepare for an eternity of existence ; and he must 
know r that to secure the largest measure of happiness here or 
hereafter, he can not w^ell afford to let the present opportunity 
for doing good to others pass by unimproved. 

* * 

The old idea of death, with its horrible uncertainty of 
happiness in a future state of existence, and its remote prospect 
of a physical resurrection, is no longer generally believed in by 
the Christian w r orld. The fearful picture of a burning lake of 
actual fire as the abode of lost souls, is no longer presented 
from any intelligent pulpit in the land. To Spiritualism is 
largely due this transformation of public sentiment on this 
question, at the same time it holds man to a strict accountabil- 
ity for all his acts. There are worse hells than lakes of fire. 



62 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



AN AWFUL MYSTERY. 



Sleep — sweet, refreshing sleep ! How like a gentle balm 
it distills through the tired nerves, and fills the senses with a 
soft, dreamy feeling of rest. The toils and cares of the day 
are over, and Night broods the earth with his sable wing. All 
nature invites the weary body to repose. It is then comes the 
awful mystery of sleep. The spirit, ever bouyant with eternal 
energy, sails away on the ocean of dreams, to some fair haven, 
it may be, in Soul land, there to meet and mingle with kindred 
spirits, whose bodies, like its own, are at rest, some, perhaps, 
forever. How very like the sleep that knows no waking — the 
last sleep. Each day we die, and each morn we come forth to 
a new life — just as we shall come forth from the sleep of death, 
to live forever on another plane of being. 



THE FIRST AWAKING. 



Imagine yourself, dear reader, just waking to a conscious 
existence in spirit life. It may be that the funeral is over and 
the old body consigned to its mother earth ; or, perhaps, you 
have come to consciousness in time to attend your own funeral, 
if you so desire, as you might. You find yourself clothed upon 
with a new body, not unlike the one you have cast off, but more 
perfect ! This is the spirit body spoken of by St. Paul, and it 
is made up of rarified matter, tangible and real to spirit sense. 
O, wondrous change ! You are alive and well. What must 
be your thoughts on awakening to that new life ? How they 
must flash back over your earth life — over your business affairs, 
which, perhaps, you have left all unsettled — over the loved 
ones who are overwhelmed with grief at your departure — over 
every act of wrong you have ever committed ; — and then, as 
you begin to take in the situation more clearly, and 
realize that now and henceforth you must take your place 
where you belong, irrespective of earthly wealth or fame, how 



TWIN GRACES. 63 

glad you will be if you can feel in your inmost soul that all is 
well with you. If you do your best here it will be all right with 
you there. 



TWIN GRACES. 



A clear head and a sound heart is the best capital possible 
to go through life with. But the two must go together to pro- 
duce the best results. A clear head alone will make one cold 
and calculating. It will succeed in accumulating wealth, utterly 
thoughtless of those who fail ; in fact, it will thrive on the fail- 
ures of other, and sleep soundly at the same time. But 
couple the two together, then, with proper spiritual unfoldment, 
Nature and Grace will present to the world a type of manhood 
akin to angelhood. It is this happy combination of elements 
in his own life that each individual should aspire for. And he 
need not imagine that he cannot become such if he only will. 
It may be harder work for some than for others ; but the harder 
the struggle the greater the glory of victory. 



KINDNESS. 



Kind treatment will win in subduing an obdurate nature, 
where harsh measures fail. Instance the case of the prison 
convict at Folsom, in California, who was believed to be entirely 
incorrigible. For three years he had been shut up in solitary 
confinement, and for some months prior to a change of warden, 
his hands and feet had been shackled with heavy weights. The 
new warden found him thus, and resolved to try an opposite 
course of treatment with him. He first removed the shackles 
from his hands, and, two week's later, the heavy irons from his 
feet, all of which was accompanied with good advice. The 
man was a stone mason, and a skillful workmen. He was soon 
put to work, working faithfully, and gave the very best of 
satisfaction. He continued thus for over a year, when he was 



6 4 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



accidently killed by the Fall of a derrick. From what was 
supposed to be the worst convict in the prison he became one 
of the very best, and all because of a little kindness wisely 
exercised in his behalf. This man would have gone to his 
death loaded with irons, under the treatment to which he was 
at first subjected. 



PLAINT OF THE UNWISE. 



It is very hard to breakthrough the crust of a selfish man, 
— one that has given his life to the acquisition of wealth, — and 
by any earnestness of pleading, or honesty of logic, induce 
him to disintangle his spirit from the encumbrance of his 
possessions, the better to prepare him for a state of existence 
wherein worldly gain constitutes no element of happiness. He 
will hold on to his wealth, even though it be far in excess of 
any possible earthly needs, to the bitter end, and finally pass 
on to the other life, there to suffer, perhaps for ages, pangs of 
regret over opportunities for usefulness lost forever. Such 
spirits, returning to earth, come with the one sad plaint, "Oh, 
would that I had done what I could for humanity's sake!" 



HOME. 

The home is the bulwark of society. Given, a nation of 
homes, and the result is a nation of patriots. The promiscuous, 
feverish, unsettled life of great cities, is destructive of all the 
finer sentiments that cluster around the true home. The 
French language has no word equivalent to that of "home," for 
the reason, probably, that there are no homes in Paris, and 
Paris is France. In our great cities there are numerous places 
where people sleep and eat, but few homes. The lodging, ten- 
ement, or boarding house — these are not homes. It is only in 
the country, or removed from the whirl and din of the city, 
that we find the true home — a pretty cottage, embowered in 



WHY WAIT FOR HAPPINESS? 65 

flowers and vines, musical with the laughter of happy children, 
and radiant with bright, sunny faces. There is no rumbling of 
wheels over the stoney street • no careworn, stolid faces to meet 
you at every turn ; no fierce, unholy eyes to gaze into yours, — 
but only the sweet peace and contentment that comes of 
harmonious living. Why will people throng into the great 
cities when the country offers such rare charms. 



WHY WAIT FOR HAPPINESS 



Why wait for happiness in some future and far off heaven? 
Why not have it now and here ? Heaven is not a thing of 
time or place, but a condition of spirit into which all 
must come before they can find true happiness. There 
is just as much heaven in this world as the spirit is capable of 
enjoying, or as can be found in the next. Wealth can not 
purchase heaven, — nor kingly power create it. It is more often 
found in the poor man's cottage, than in the palace of the rich. 
A gentle nature, a loving heart, a contented mind — these are 
heaven, and all there is of heaven in God's vast universe. No 
one need wait for death to enable him to enter upon the enjoy- 
ment of this eternal heritage of peace and rest. 

We are living in an a^e of the rankest kind of material- 
ism, and nowhere is its spirit manifested more completely than 
among Spiritualists. True, they claim to believe in a future 
state of existence, and yet they live as though this life was the 
all in all of being. They gather in the perishable treasures of 
earth, often entirely neglectful of the everlasting riches of the 
spirit, which alone will be of any worth to them a little while 
hence. They pass on, one after another, and do little or noth- 
ing for humanity, and then they return to us with the set plaint, 
" O, that I made better use of my opportunities ! O, that I 
had my life to live over again ! " 



66 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

Persecution for opinion's sake, like abuse of the individual, 
is the strongest possible promoter of the cause that it is sought 
to crush. There is a just principle in human nature that rebels 
at abuse or persecution of a fellow mortal. Let a man or 
woman be roundly berated, and in all true natures this princi- 
ple at once asserts itself, and rallies to the defence of the 
wrongfully accused. Persecution first gave Christianity to the 
world, and when it became strong, tyrannical and corrupt, its 
martyr-fires made Protestantism first possible, and then a migh- 
ty success. No Spiritualist need fear for his Cause because of 
the abuse of the ignorant. 

SORROWFUL SATISFACTION. 



The aches and pains, griefs and disappointments of some 
people constitute their standard themes of thought and conver- 
sation. They seem to derive a sort of sorrowful satisfaction in 
being able to oversize the pretentions of their neighbors in the 
matter of grievances and misfortunes. To them a first-class ar- 
ticle of rheumatism, and a No. i brand of cholera morbus, are 
sources of delight which will answer for many years of neighborly 
chat; and they tell their ailments and infirmities over "each in 
its accustomed place, from morn till night, from youth till 
hoary age." And thus their weaknesses and imperfections are 
made to grow upon what they feed, until their mortal bodies be- 
come animated bundles of disease, and finally and prematurely 
"food for worms." 



+ o +■ 



How the harassing cares of this life — the worry, the strife, 
the worldly ambitions — encompass the spirit as with an armor 
of steel, and make it almost impregnable to the humanities and 
charities — the tender thought of the welfare of others — so es- 
sential to the unfoldment of the spirit, and to fit it for the higher 
enjoyment of that realm of existence upon which we must all 
soon enter. 



SCIENTIFIC METHODS. 67 

SCIENTIFIC METHODS. 



How glibly we talk about scientific methods of psychical re- 
search, as though it was one thing to be scientific and another 
to be careful and truthful. What is science but a few collated 
facts in certain departments of nature ? Wherein does the as- 
tronomer, or the geologist, or the naturalist, possess any peculiar 
qualifications for the investigation of psychic phenomena ? He 
can apply none of his methods here. Here is a new realm of 
natural facts that can only be explored in ways peculiarly its own. 
The one who enters this realm with mind divested of the pre- 
judices that a scientific knowledge in other departments of na- 
ture is apt to engender, is the better qualified, in our judgment, 
to discover the facts that abound therein. It is no discredit to 
Spiritualism that its facts are rejected by Dr. Carpenter and the 
Seybert Commission. The judgment of Professors Crooks, 
Wallace and Zollner, is quite as conclusive to the contrary; while 
there are thousands of plain, practical people, who are not scien- 
tists in the general acceptance of the term, whose judgment in 
these matters is quite as good as if they were. 



HEALTH AND HARMONY 



If you would have health of body you must first have har- 
mony of spirit and peace of mind. When all of the bearings are 
properly oiled, the machinery of the mill runs smoothly and 
without friction; but once admit an element of inharmony, and 
the friction of discord is felt through all its parts. As a par- 
ticle of dust will stop the movement of a watch, so, with a finely 
organized, sensitive nature, will the indulgence of a single, un- 
kind or unworthy thought often produce great disturbance in 
the physical system. We do not say that all sickness is the re- 
sult of inharmonious conditions of mind, but that much of it is 
beyond question. Some people think they are harmonious 
when they are greatly otherwise. True harmony is that condi- 



68 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

tion of the spirit which is at one with the All-Good — that thinks 
no ill, that rises superior to all the petty annoyances of life, and 
reposes sweetly and serenely on the bosom of Infinite Love. 
Below this there is more or less discord to work havoc with the 
delicate machinery of the body — just how and to what extent 
we may not fully know. 



A HOPELESS PLACE. 



To the materialist what a dreary, hopeless place is the 
grave ! With no knowledge or thought of life beyond, he con- 
signs the remains of some idol of his soul to the cold earth. 
To him the life that faded away in his arms marked the end of 
being for that loved one, absolutely and forever. There is 
nothing left for him now but memory, and the consciousness of 
a dead joy. He shuts his ears to the voice that would gladly 
speak to him out of the silence, and give him the assurance 
that his idol still lived. He will not have it so, for has he not 
reasoned himself into the conviction that there can be no such 
thing as spirit separate from the mortal body ? And so he turns 
homeward from the place of the dead, with the light gone out 
of his life forevermore. All the logic and reason of all the 
schools of materialistic thought cannot possess a feather's weight 
in the scale against the demonstrated fact of one little spirit rap, 
nor all the agnosticism of the universe against a single grain of 
positive knowledge. 

When we look out even upon the very little of the universe 
that the mind can grasp or comprehend, and consider, if we 
can, that we are but mites, held by the mysterious law of gravi- 
tation to the surface of one of the most inferior of the countless 
millions of worlds that roll through the mighty vastness of the 
skies, how insignificant seem all human pomp and greatness. 
In humility of soul we may well exclaim, " What is man that 
Thou art mindful of him ! 



BUILDING BETTER THAN SHE KNEW. 69 

BUILDING BETTER THAN SHE KNEW. 



We know a lovely soul, aglow with the highest and holiest 
thoughts of human life and duty — a mother of a noble son, 
whose nature is unfolding beautifully under her loving care, — 
w r ho thinks only good continually, and carries her thoughts into 
all her acts, which are ever for the uplifting of the lowly and the 
advancement of truth; and yet this grand soul is distrustful of 
her own merits, and of her power and influence for use in the 
world. It is well to be modest and unpretentious; it indicates 
a well-disciplined spirit. But, if this good woman could see her 
-self as the bright ones of the other life see her, she would lift up 
her soul and rejoice that she is able to be the instrument for 
-good that she is. Take courage, sister; you are building better 
than you know. 



How easy it is to be obliging and civil, and gentle — to 
speak pleasantly, and considerately of the presence and opin- 
ions of others — in short to be a lady or a gentleman, in all the 
-walks of life. Human nature, undisciplined of the spirit, is 
not far removed from the beast. Its tastes, appetites and 
riabits are all of the animal, and full of the suggestiveness of 
the flesh. It is only through the domination of the spiritual 
nature of man that he rises in the scale of being above his 
^brother animals. And the first step to a better order of life 
lies in the direction of those little amenities that make one 
thoughtful of the feelings and happiness of others. 



* 



Many a noble soul finds expression through an unattractive 
"body, just as the sweetest kernels are often encased in rough ex- 
teriors. It is the gentle expression, the kind and loving thought, 
the sympathetic heart, that indicate the noble spirit — the true 
man or woman. It is impossible for a noble nature to be un- 
kind. Truly, " of such is the kingdom of heaven." 



70 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

TRUE BEAUTY. 



A pretty form and face, when not accompanied by vanity, 
are attractions that every woman may be pardoned for aspiring, 
to. Symmetry and beauty of person, like all other forms of 
beauty, have a spiritual side which is uplifting and ennobling. 
Who can deny the inspiring effect of grand natural scenery — of 
majestic mountains, of restless oceans and summer sunsets. It 
is only when we learn to comprehend the spiritual significance 
of beautiful forms that we derive the highest and purest delight 
therein. True beauty must belong to the spirit to be rightly 
appreciated. A beautiful spirit makes the plainest features of 
the human face beautiful. In searching for the beauty which 
survives the ravages of time, one must delve beneath the surface 
of things. There is a beauty of form and face that grows more 
beautiful with time, but it can be seen only with the eye of the 
spirit. 



SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT. 



When one's own spiritual nature becomes sufficiently un- 
folded to enable one to discern the "things of the spirit," he 
then has no further use for those manifestations of spirit power 
that appeal only to the physical senses. There are thousands 
of Spiritualists, who believe in all the physical phenomena 
known as spiritual manifestations, and yet who are never seen 
in seances for such manifestations. Why is it ? Simply be- 
cause they have outgrown the conditions making such manifes- 
tations necessary for their communion with their spirit friends. 
They have learned the way of communing in spirit on the higher 
plane of their natures; in other words, they have learned to meet 
their spirit friends on their own grounds and in their own ele- 
ments. While physical phenomena is necessary to arrest the 
attention of the skeptic, it should be regarded but as the pri- 
mary school of Spiritualism, from which the truly progressive 
soul will naturally seek to graduate as soon as possible. 



A MONSTER OF INIQUITY. 7 I 

A MONSTER OF INIQUITY. 



What a monster of iniquity has man, in his ignorance, 
made of the All Father ! He is held up to the world as a being 
of omnipotent power and infinite cruelty, who can be placated 
only by the most obsequious worship, and a belief in a stu- 
pendous absurdity. To question the existence of such a being 
is to cut oneself off from all hope here or hereafter. It is to 
force the Father to consign the children of his creation to ever 
lasting woe, with never a chance to reform, but forever and ever 
to suffer torments untold. How can any just man make him- 
self believe it possible for him to love such a being ! How un- 
like the Infinite Spirit of the All Good that the unfolded spirit 
of this more enlightened age has come to recognize I The old 
faiths of the world are being slowly undermined by the newer 
and better philosophies of life, and ere long they will disappear 

altogether. 

■ ^ ■ 

ONE WOKLD AT A TIME. 



" One world at a time,*" is a wise maxim, in a general sense, 
at the same time it is by no means unwise to so make use of 
the '"one world " as to best fit one for the next, or other world. 
The first point to be settled is that involved in the main ques- 
tion, Is there any other world, or any future state of existence? 
All Spiritualists claim to have settled the question, and all 
Christians think they have — the first by actual knowledge, and 
the latter by faith. Then, knowing that this life, at best, is of 
but short duration, and that in the nature of things it must be 
simply preparatory for one of vastly longer duration, is it not 
evident that the highest and best use of this world is to prepare 
one for the more enduring realities of the life to come? Can 
any sensible mind arrive at any other conclusion? Why then, 
in our declining years, should we cling so tenaciously to the 
things of earth, not one of which can we take with us into the 
Beyond ? 



7 2 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



ALMOST THEKE. 



"Almost there ! " said the grand old veteran, as, with tot- 
tering form and feeble step, he returned my friendly greeting as 
we passed. Yes, indeed, methought, you are " almost there." 
A very little while and the pale boatman will bear you away to 
"the land of rest," where all your "possessions lie." How grand 
it must be to feel that one's work on earth is finished, when it 
has been well done, and that the time is near at hand when one 
can lay the old body down, and step forth into the new life! 
Thrice happy day ! No more the bent form and feeble step ! 
No more the wrinkled features, nor the dull senses ! But from 
the old tenement of clay steps forth a spirit form, radiant and 
fresh with the lustre of perpetual youth. Happy, ye aged one, 
who can say, "All hail the day of my deliverance." 



THE DEVIL'S PHILOSOPHY 



"Eat, drink and be merry, for to-morrow ye die." That 
is the Devil's philosophy — if there be a Devil. It is the phil- 
osophy of the devil of man's undeveloped nature — the devil of 
appetite, of lust, of sordid purpose. It is the practice, if not 
the philosophy, of the great, selfish, masses of humanity, 
who are rushing and drifting along as though this life were all. 
But should we not "eat, drink and be merry" in this life? 
Certainly, in a rational sense, but not because "to-morrow we 
die," but because to-morrow we live, and shall live forever. 
We should make our lives joyous with the sunshine of health* 
harmony, and true happiness here, that we may all the better 
be prepared for that "to-morrow" which will come to all, and 
to many, very soon. " What profiteth it a man if he gain the 
"whole world and lose his own soul?" That is, not for etern- 
ity, for in the wisdom and justice of the Creator that cannot be; 
but it will be quite long enough, we doubt not, to burn away 
the dross in the furnace fires of remorse. 



COME WITH ME. 73 

COME WITH ME. 



Come with me, ye sons of wealth and daughters of fashion — 
ye who live in the complacent belief that you are doing your 
duty to yourself and to your fellow beings — let us walk forth 
together through the by-ways of this great city. O, the shame 
of bartered womanhood, the agony of dissipated and degraded 
manhood ! O, the nights of revelry and debauch, the deeds of 
crime, the homes of wretchedness and woe ! Behold the fiery 
torrents of ruin and death flowing unceasingly from over three 
thousand fountains of hell ! See ye the army of young men, 
the vast multitudes of " foolish virgins," building for dishonor, 
for disease, for the grave ! What can you do to prevent — to 
save? Ask your own conscience, What are you doing? Place 
your firm, young feet upon the eternal rock of truth, and by ex- 
ample, by precept, by all the energy of your being live and labor 
for the All-Good. 

Jo$ 

No man has a right to live upon the vices or weaknesses 
of his fellow-beings, and none can so live without sinking his 
own spirit into the depths of unutterable misery. He may not 
realize it in his years of earthly prosperity — in the enjoyment of 
gold coined from the heart's blood of his fellows, — but there 
will come a time when he will call upon the rocks to hide him 
from the eyes of an offended God — the remorse of his own 
conscience. "Am I my brother's keeper?" do you ask? You 
are, sir. If you are stronger, or wiser, or better than he, you 
owe him of your strength, wisdom and goodness, to protect him 
in his weakness. 

How small the range of vision that sees not beyond the 
boundary of this little planet, with its one moon, and imagines 
that the Creator of millions of worlds greater than ours, and of 
vastly more importance in the plan and economy of the uni- 
verse, should have to embody Himself in immortality and cause 



74 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

Himself to be executed upon the cross, in order to avert a mo- 
ral catastrophe to the human race ! Can it be that after trying 
His practiced hand on systems of worlds innumerable, He 
should come, in the awful perfection of His skill, to make such a 
terrible mistake with this little earth ? 

* *. 

Large souls are never envious or jealous — never seek to 

build themselves up by pulling others down. They delight in 
the success and good luck of their neighbors — are glad when 
others are made glad, even though their own pathway may be 
beset with thorns. And when fortune smiles upon their lives, 
they are always ready to share it with their less fortunate friends 
and neighbors. The world needs large souls to bear its mighty 
burdens of truth to humanity — to carry forward its grand re- 
formatory and uplifting work. Thereby are the children of the 
One Father led onward from age to age, and from lower to 
higher planes of spiritual unfoldment. 

•* * 
How eagerly the storm-tossed mariner watches for the 
land — for the haven where his loved ones dwell. They, too, 
are waiting and watching for the gleam of his welcome sails — 
little " faces by the pane," a fond mother, perhaps a loving 
wife — all eager to greet the wanderer and fold him in the heart 
of home. How typical of the journey of life; and how precious 
the thought to the "homeward bound" — those of us who are 
nearing the silent shore. Soon the shadowy hills will break 
upon our vision — soon we shall drop anchor in calm waters, 
in the beautiful harbor of rest. 

Of all the evils that ever beset the human race there is 
none so great as that of the indulgence in strong drink. It is 
the giant's heel that crushes out manhood — the poison breath 
that blights and blisters the lives of all with whom it comes in 
contact. It turns angels into demons, happy homes into hovels 
of wretchedness, and fills the world with misery and crime. 






SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. 75 

And yet there be good people who seek to justify the traffic in 
rum as a sort of necessary evil ! Would they permit a mad dog 
to run through their streets to bite their children ! Is hydro- 
phobia a blessing ? 

SWORD OF THE SPIK1T. 



" The sword of the spirit ! " How few understand the 
meaning of the phrase; certainly none who have never felt its 
mighty power. Words, as the garments of thought, may be ex- 
pressive in an intellectual sense, as appealing to the intellect; 
but it is only when charged with spirit power that they strike 
home to the hearts and consciences of men. To make this 
power effective, the writer or speaker must feel its animating 
and beautiful chemistry, its electric thrill and glow, surging 
through his own being like a mighty tidal wave of divine strength 
and power. Then the words he utters are made "the sword of 
the spirit," to overcome all opposition, and pierce their way to 
the quick of the understanding — to the living soul. Armed 
with this formidable power one man becomes a host in the bat- 
tles of life. 

+o + 

STUPENDOUS MISTAKE. 



It is a stupendous mistake for anyone to imagine that he 
can add to the measure of his own happiness by destroying the 
happiness of others ; in other words, that he can derive any 
lasting benefit to himself by circumventing his neighbor. The 
competitive usages of trades are inimical to the highest wel_ 
fare of society. Competition is based upon the law of might, 
and not upon the higher spiritual law of right. It presupposes 
a superiority, skill or judgment, in the one whereby that one's 
advantage becomes another's disadvantage. When the princi- 
ple of co-operation shall prevail, as it will some day, then the 
highest interest of one will become the best interest of all, and 



76 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

no one will think to advance himself except by the advance- 
ment . of all. There is a deep spiritual significance in the 
saying, " He who would lose his life shall save it ; " that is, to- 
give is to receive, in the highest sense. We cannot do for 
others without doing for ourselves. 

ENLIGHTENED CO-OPERATION NECESSARY. 



Is ours the highest and best form of government possible 
for man ? Most of us seem to think so about once a year — 
on the Fourth of July ; but a fair consideration of the iniqui- 
ties and wrongs practiced under our laws, or against their en- 
forcement, would hardly warrant any such conclusion. A 
government that permits the existence of great trusts to spec- 
ulate on the staples of life, or that sanctions the traffic in, and 
use of death-dealing stimulants, cannot be other than a stand- 
ing iniquity. In fact, our system of competitive industry, in 
which the weakest are forced to steal or starve, when once they 
are driven from the field, is anything but to the advantage of 
the multitude. A condition of society, abounding in prisons, 
poor-houses and insane asylums, cannot surely be a wise or 
healthful state of affairs. It is only by enlightened co-opera- 
tion that society can find rest from the turmoil, agitation and 

wrong now everywhere apparent. 

■+-•+■ 

What a crude if not cruel idea of Supreme Wisdom or jus- 
tice, it is to suppose that, in the economy of creation, evil 
should be accorded any especial advantage over good. If un- 
developed or evil spirits are permitted to return to earth to en., 
snare the feet of the unwary to their eternal destruction, and 
good spirits are not allowed to make use of the same law of return 
to counteract the influence of the evil ones, then wherein, pray,, 
consists the justice and goodness of God? Can some of our 
smart ecclesiastics — believers in the Devil theory of creation — 
answer ? 



ONWARD. 77 

ONWARD. 



Onward, ever onward, from childhood to old age, with 
swiftly gliding footsteps, moves the mighty procession of human 
life. To some it is the butterfly of a spring morning, with 
wings purple and golden, flitting from flower to flower, followed 
by the dull chrysalis of old age, as the sum of wasted years. 
To others, it is the struggle with, and mastery of self — the 
outreaching of the soul for the Infinite — the enlargement and 
ripening of the spiritual powers, growing brighter and more 
beautiful with the years — brushing away the cobwebs of mor- 
tality, the rust and corrosion of time, and at last entering up- 
on the life beyond full grown and ripe for its infinite unfold- 
ments and possibilities. It is only by the constant exercise of 
our powers, in any direction of being, that we can hope to 
grow. If we would wear the laurels, Ave must win and merit 

them by our own efforts. 

-+~0-+- 

HIGHEST CONDITION OF LIFE. 



If everybody sought the truest welfare of his neighbor is 
it not apparent that there would be no poverty, sin or suffering 
in the world ? Hence, that must be the highest condition of 
life, the most conducive to the welfare of humanity, that exer- 
cises the broadest charity and liberality among men. Should 
the rich man " sell all that he hath, and give it to the poor," 
as Christ recommended the one who came to him in trouble, 
to do? By no means. That was doubtless a capital case, 
and one that required heroic treatment. Wealth, in the hands 
of the good man, becomes a power for good in the wise and 
noble use of its accumulations. For such an one to "give all 
that he hatlrto the poor," would be to place beyond his reach 
the means for doing great good. Besides, the poor should be 
assisted into ways of self-support, rather than made the recip- 
ients of charity, which should always be the last resort, where 
all means of self-sustenance fail. 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 
THE SWEETEST PLEASURE. 



The sweetest pleasure the spirit can know is that which it 
shares with others. What joy so dear to the mother's heart as 
that she experiences in ministering to the needs of the help- 
less babe that nestles upon her bosom ? Thus in giving she 
receives, even more bountifully than she gives. And herein 
we catch a glimpse of the philosophy of happiness — in the 
devotion of ourselves to the amelioration and uplifting of 
humanity. How it broadens one's nature and brings one into 
kinship with the great, loving Over-Soul of the universe. Did 
you ever think, dear reader, that you cannot pluck a thorn 
from your neighbor's path without adding a rose to your own ? 
That you cannot assuage a pang of a suffering soul, or pour 
the balm of sympathy upon a wounded heart without laying 
up pricelesss treasures of joy for your own spirit ? But so in- 
deed it is. Heaven is made up of generous, loving, noble 
spirits who vie in each other's welfare. 

:oj 

There is something sublimely beautiful in a serene and 
happy old age. The struggles of life — the rasping cares of 
business — the work and worry of earlier years, now are past, 
and in sweet content the aged sire, or white souled matron, 
now patiently wait for the change that will unite them with 
their loved ones on the other shore. To the man or woman 
who has lived their best old age brings joy, and not sadness. 

Where is the man who would like to marry a woman who 
chews tobacco, drinks whisky, or uses profane or vulgar lan- 
guage? And yet many a man who indulges in all of these 
nastinesses and vices, will impose himself upon a pure and 
loveable woman as proper material for a decent husband. 
Does he not thereby commit a felony like that of obtaining 
goods under false pretenses, and ought he not to be arrested 
and punished as a fraud ? 



THE STRUGGLE OF LIFE 79 

THE STRUGGLE OF LIFE. 



"What is man that Thou art mindful of him?" Greedy, 
selfish and sinful, the great mass of humanity appears to the 
spiritual vision. Each for himself, struggling to overreach his 
fellows in aggregating to his own advantage the perishable 
things of this life. And yet, here is the soil for the growth 
and unfoldment of angels. Mortal life is so short, and man 
has so many needs, and is such a creature of environment, 
that we sometimes wonder that he is as far advanced, spirit- 
ally, as he is, — or rather, that so many noble examples of 
unfolded humanity exist in the world. There is hope for all 
when even one unselfish, gentle, loving nature is found, for are 
not all children of the one Father, and equally entitled to His 
care? Can God afford to be unjust? He certainly would be 
if any one soul in all His vast creation were suffered to grope 
forever in "outer darkness." 

No cause founded on truth or justice can be ridiculed or 
argued down, or persecution successfully assail it. Did not 
paganism, with all its mighty enginery of power, do its utmost 
to crush out early Christianity? May not the Christian perse- 
cutors of Spiritualism profit by the lesson ? Let them preach 
against it, and they but emphasize the fact of its existence, and 
pave the way to the investigation of its phenomena by many 
who would otherwise never have thought of it. 

* * 

Mr. Colville thinks the time will come when man will be 
ashamed to be sick, and when his intuitions will be so devel- 
oped as to enable him to be forewarned, and thereby able to 
avoid accidents. Then, in the fullness of time, will the laying 
off of the mortal be as simple and painless as the casting aside 
of an old and worn-out garment. There is no doubt that there 
is a perfection of physical life possible to man whereof he little 
dreams in his present undeveloped state. 



80 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

■Nature is ever striving for the best. She will have it at any 
cost. This is apparent in all forms of life below that of man. 
The strongest and best fitted to endure survives ; the weakest 
is crowded out. The struggle for supremacy is ever waging. 
In the world of moral and spiritual forces the same law pre- 
vails, though less apparent to the physical senses. Here, too, 
nature is persistent in developing the best. She is ever seek- 
ing for a better order of manhood — for a manhood akin to 
angelhood, and will be content with nothing less. Knowing 
her purposes in creation, how can man have the heart to dis- 
appoint her, by proving himself unworthy of her high expec- 
tations. 

hj 

Blessed indeed is the one upon whose life has fallen the 
sweet baptism of love and light from the spirit world, infusing 
the soul with thoughts of love divine for all mankind, and 
drawing it nearer and nearer to the heart of Infinite Goodness. 

Nature is a kind and gentle mother to all who live in har- 
mony with her laws — who obey her mandates. To them she 
brings the sunshine of joy and gladness — in the bounding heart 
beats of youth, in the eager energies and pursuits of middle 
life, and in the calm restfulness of old age — and they find it 
good to live. 

" Progress " is the watchword of the age. We are im- 
proving our methods and our machinery in all directions of 
life and industry. Why should our religious creeds be an ex- 
ception to the rule ? Shall we arrange vast systems of rapid 
communication throughout the world, circumvent the globe 
with electric wires, and climb to cerulean hights of grandeur 
in all that affects man's physical welfare, and still continue to 
carry our religious grist to mill with the. corn in one end of the 
bag and a stone in the other ? 



ARROGANCE OF OPINION. 8 I 

ARROGANCE OF OPINION. 



The arrogance of opinion is the rock that has wrecked and 
broken in pieces whole argosies of happiness. Here is where 
many a society, organized for good work, has foundered and 
gone down. Some strongly magnetic man or woman asserts a 
proposition, authoritatively and reckless of the opinions of 
others. They draw around them their followers. Others, 
alike constituted, assert the opposite. Soon the society is 
divided in cliques and factions, all bitterly endeavoring to 
destroy each other; and then they all fly apart and chaos 
reigns. Men will respect the opinions of others, we care not 
what they may be, when presented in a modest and respectful 
manner. The "sledge hammer" style of argument never con- 
vinces, and generally shocks and disgusts those it is aimed to 
convince. Spiritualists should bear this thought in mind. 



When will the world learn that there are higher and better 
uses for human energies than in their exclusive devotion to the 
acquisition of wealth. If the young man, of bright hopes and 
laudable ambition, could only realize how the eager pursuit of 
gain is apt to shrivel up the spirit, and encase it in an armor 
of selfishness — how like the sirocco of the desert it will dry 
out of his nature the sweet juices of benevolence, and the 
thought for the welfare of his fellow beings — we think he would 
see to it that other and higher objects in life should absorb a 
portion of his attention. 



* 
* * 



It is not for man to question the wisdom of the Creator. 
If He sees fit to create venomous reptiles, or fan the soft airs 
of heaven into devastating cyclones, or rend the foundations 
of the earth itself with mighty convulsions, that is his business 
— ours to keep out of the way — if we can, and if we can't, to 
accept the situation in a manner that will produce the least 
disturbance to ourselves. 



82 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



There is an old adage that "the good die young." — Be- 
cause they are denied the time and opportunity to become 
bad ! The real good are those who have struggled with life's 
temptations and have overcome them — who have conquered 
their own natures, and who live to bless others. That kind of 
" good'' always "die old." 

Self-reliance is a better legacy for a young man to begin 
business with than much gold. If to this be added habits of 
temperance and industry success in life is certain. 

We are told that " God tempers the wind to the shorn 
lamb : " that is, provided the lamb be shorn in the right sea- 
son. The truth is, Nature, of which wind and lamb are both 
parts, is as heartless as the avalanche. It kills or maims all 
who get in the way of her laws. She is kind only to those 
who have instinct enough, or sense enough to obey her laws. 

There is no fact of nature of quite as much importance 
o the world as the fact of the continuance of human life be- 
yond the gates of death. A thorough understanding and 
adaptation of this truth to mortal existence means everything of 
good to the race. It will eventually bring about an era of 
universal brotherhood wherein no one can do another wrong. 



Spiritualism not only brings us a positive knowledge of a 
future life, enabling us to hold happy communion with our 
loved ones on the other side, but it brings to the world a clear- 
er and better conception of human life and duty. It shows 
up, in a clear, white light, the misconceptions of theology 
concerning a future life, and indicates the proper unfoldment 
of man's spiritual nature in this life in order to attain true hap- 
piness in the next. Spiritualism and Calvanism ! Light and 
darkness — Gabriel and Lucifer ! 



don't worry. 83 

don't -worry. 



Don't worry; it only makes matters worse. Is rent day 
near ? Have you bills to meet and nothing to meet them with ?" 
Do the best you can, leave no resource unexhausted; but don't 
worry. You will need a clear brain to-morrow to plan with. 
If you lay awake all night, worrying over your troubles, your 
nerves and brain will be in no condition for business — for cool,, 
deliberate planning. And then some wise spirit friend, seeing. 
a way out of your trouble, might come and impress you (they 
often do), if you will keep yourself in a passive condition. 
They cannot come to you when you are excited, or your nerves 
are all unstrung with worriment. Bear in mind that no one 
cart do his best unless he keeps cool. The prize-fighter who 
loses his temper is lost. Many a bankrupt might have avoided 
disaster if he had only not given away to despair. Whoever 
does his best can do no more. Then if he fails he has no> 
right to blame himself therefor. We are all human, and all 
liable to err in judgment. 

UNSUNG HEROES. 



The world has many heroes whose deeds are unsung. There 
is one now, across the street — that pale, delicate young girl, mod- 
estly going to her daily task, at the counter or the printer's case, 
where by eight, or perhaps ten hours of patient toil, she earns 
ten or twelve dollars a week. And this meager income she 
faithfully hands over to her mother for family expenses — to sup- 
port an invalid father, perhaps, and two or three younger sisters. 
How her modest eyes droop as she feels the vulgar stare of the 
young roues at the street corner ! How patiently she pursues 
her task, spurning the hourly temptation to a life of gilded sin — 
lifting her soul in prayer for help to be good and true, and bear 
up bravely under the crosses of life. Do we not all know of 
many such, of both sexes, and are they not angels of light and 
love to mark the way for human duty ? 



#4 SPIRITUAL ERAGMENTS. 

Do not, O sorrowing mortal, — O victim of disaster, — 
waste your precious hours in thinking perpetually of your own 
troubles ! Have you lost your fortune? Think of some poor 
fellow sojourner to the grave who has not only lost his fortune 
but his health also, and extend to him the blessing of a gentle 
word of sympathy. Have you lost an eye or a leg by some 
unfortunate disaster? Let your compassion go out to the one 
who has suffered the loss of both eyes, or legs. Most of the 
unhappiness in this world comes of brooding over our own 
troubles. It will mostly disappear when we turn our thoughts 
and sympathies to others. 

It does no good to scold, or find fault with your neighbors. 
You cannot mend their faults in that way, while you will be 
apt to cloud your own spirit. There is a bright side to even- 
human nature, no matter how undeveloped or befogged by vice 
or crime. It is by this bright side, where are located the open 
windows of the soul, we must always approach our fellow 
beings, if we would do them good. Try it, ye who would work 
the refoimation of humanity. Reach forth a loving hand to 
the erring one ; it is only thus that you can become his savior. 

TEACHING BY PKECEPT. 



Teaching by precept has a double force when backed up 
h>y example. It is a very easy thing to tell others what to do 
and how to do it; not always so easy to practice what one 
preaches. We all know, or think we know, right from wrong. 
The thought of the right will help others, who are wavering in 
the balance, to a better life; but its moral force is lost upon our 
selves unless we square our lives by that thought. And u s 
here is the lesson: All the helps in the universe will profit us 
nothing unless we help ourselves. And the very moment we 
determine to help ourselves, it is amazing how numerous and 
potent will be the friendly forces that will come to our assistance. 



BE COMFORTED. 85 

HE COMFORTED. 



O hearts that ache from the loss of loved ones ! Be 
comforted with the blessed thought that there is only a thin 
veil between you and them ! And this knowledge is the 
glorious boon that Spiritualism has brought to the world. How 
it lifts the clouds of doubt and uncertainty, and takes that 
heavy weight of woe out of the heart. The saddest place in 
all this world is an orthodox funeral, with its hopeless, cheerless 
gloom of the grave. Not a ray of light, not a glimmer of 
hope, when your unconverted loved one dies ! No escape 
from God's wrath ! Lost, lost, eternally lost ! Why, it is 
•enough to make the corpse rise up in its coffin and rebuke the 
"minister of God " who dares thus to malign the Ali-loving 
Father ! 

A GRAND SOUL. 



We know a grand unselfish soul — a man at the head of a 
large and profitable business, giving employment to many 
hands — a Spiritualist in the truest meaning of the word — who 
religiously gives away to charitable purposes, every dollar of his 
large income not otherwise needed for the proper support of 
his family. He helps every worthy cause to the extent of his 
last available dollar, and then regrets that he has not more to 
give. No poor or sick medium ever appealed to him in vain, 
-and no hand of worthy want, outstretched to him, ever returned 
to its owner empty. He gives for the very love of giving. His 
sympathetic nature overflows with goodness, with kind and lov- 
ing thoughts, with generous and noble impulses, towards all 
humanity. Riches ! what does he care for worldly wealth. 
His riches are of a kind that never perish. Why, he could pile 
up a mint of money if he so desired; but he prefers to enjoy it 
in making others happy as he goes along. And so he fills the 
air all around him with sunshine. What a host of loving spirits 



86 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

will stand at the portals to bid him welcome to his beautiful 
home in the "sweet by and by !" What a host surround him 
here to bless and gladden his life ! 

SPIRITUAL CRIPPLES. 



Let us be honest with ourselves. We can't afford to deal 
unfairly with our own spirits. In fact we can't do it and ex- 
pect to escape the consequences. If we cramp our spiritual* 
natures into a straight jacket, and take on the conditions of er- 
ror incidental to such spiritual distortion, we can expect nothing; 
else than that we shall enter the other life spiritual cripples,, 
with our faculties for growth and unfoldment seriously impaired. 
It is with the spirit as with a dwelling house : Open the win- 
dows, and pure air and sunshine will flow in, bringing health 
and happiness to the inmates ; close them and the pale shadow 
of disease and death will ere long make its presence felt. 



AN EMPTY SHELL. 



What an empty shell is life not lived to some good purpose T 
How barren and desolate it seems ! How vastly more so when 
perverted by selfishness into corrupt and dishonest ways ! If 
we could only see ourselves as we are seen by those shining- 
ones who have fought the good fight over their lower natures- 
and won the glad victory, how small and unworthy we would 
seem in our own eyes. Scavengers of earth, gathering up rags- 
and rubbish for mortal junk shops. Bye-and-bye death comes-. 
a ong and breathes upon our possessions, and they all vanish,, 
and we with them. The question which the angel of each in- 
dividual conscience will ask its owner sometime, will not be,. 
How much money did you make on earth ? but, How did you 
make it, and what have you now to show for it? There, your- 
bank deposit will go for naught, and your houses and lands 
also. What else have you? Ah, brother mortal, beware! 



WHAT ARE WE HERE FOR? 87 

WHAT AKEWE HERE FOR? 



Just in proportion as man lives unselfishly, and kindly 
assists in bearing the burdens of others — helping the weak 
over the rough places, and the foolish to better ways of life — 
will he be blessed in his own spirit. What are we here for? 
To fatten on the labor of others, and profit by our superior 
ability or opportunities ? By no means. It is thus that we 
put away the day of our own truest unfoldment. We harden 
our natures to the gentle influences of the spirit world. We 
grow tough and resistant to the softening and moulding 
processes of the angel ones who would lead us upward into the 
light and glory of true manhood or womanhood, and mould us 
into the image of the divine. Life is at best but a brief day. 
It is so short, and there is really so little of it, that it doesn't pay 
to be mean, or unkind, or uncharitable. We were but boys 
and girls yesterday ; to-day, with many of us, the shadows of 
evening are lengthing; to-morrow 



CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE. 



A message written betweem slates, locked and sealed — 
the slates prepared by one's self and not for a moment out of 
one's hands or sight, ought to be conclusive evidence to any 
fair mind *of the existence of an independent intelligent, 
though unseen, power, capable of communicating with mortals. 
This evidence has come to thousands through our mediums for 
this phase of spirit manifestation, and may be witnessed by 
any reasonable person, who will take the trouble to investigate. 
When this message comes in the familiar hand-writing of some 
loved one who has passed to the other shore, and also bears 
internal evidence of its genuineness, what sense is there in 
attributing it to anything else than what it purports to be? "I 
am your mother, and I come to prove to you that I still live 
and love you, 1 ' appears written between slates held in the hands 



88 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

of the son, in that mother's familiar hand, with her name in 
full, that the medium never knew. " Go away from me; you 
are the Devil," says our Adventist friend ; "my mother is sleep- 
ing in the grave waiting for the resurrection !" This is a funny 
world. P. S. — We wish to add that we have had, many times, 
through that grand medium, Mr. Fred Evans, the most positive 
evidence of independent spirit writing. 



The first thing a man or woman should do, after coming 
to a knowledge of the truth of continued existence, should be 
to adjust his life in harmony therewith. He should realize 
that only by the unfoldment of his own spirit can he expect to 
reach the highest rewards of happiness in this life or the next. 
He must lay aside the besetting evils of his lower nature — all 
jealousy, envy, and unkindness, and seek for the highest good 
in his own life, and of all with whom he comes in contact. 
Not to do this is to fail to profit by the glorious lesson of angel 
ministration. 



IRRECONCILABLE CONTRADICTIONS. 



Why is it that some men succeed in business in spite of 
themselves, while others fail, notwithstanding they put forth 
the best of efforts ? James Lick was a type of the former class. 
Having lived near him for many years it was the writer's priv- 
ilege to know something of this man's personal ways. He 
never undertook a business project that was not marked by al- 
most sublime folly. He built a flouring mill, in the Santa 
Clara valley, the heavy timbers of which were polished ma- 
hogany imported from Central America, while the mountains, 
a few mibs distant, abounded in the choicest redwood and fir. 
He spent a quarter of a million of money improving a portion 
of his property, which he afterward donated to the Paine Hall 
people of Boston, and which they sold for less than $20,000. 
And yet, notwithstanding these and many other like follies, 



SCIENTIFIC CONDITIONS. 89 

James Lick accumulated several millions of dollars, which he 
wisely gave to noble uses ! Such financial contradictions are 
irreconcilable with all known business principles. Who can 
explain them ? 

SCIENTIFIC CONDITIONS. 



Spiritualists who insist upon scientific Spiritualism, or 
phenomena under scientific conditions, are often most unscien- 
tific in their methods. They impose on mediums conditions 
which are at utter variance with the laws of mediumship, and 
call their methods scientific. For instance, the occult tele- 
graph will work best, if at all, when held in the lap of the 
medium, or very closely to his or her aura. It will work in a 
harmonious atmosphere when not in contact with the medium, 
but the results will not be as satisfactory. Here is a law not 
difficult to be understood — or perhaps we should say, a fact, 
that pertains alike to psychography and other phases of physical 
mediumship. Harmony is always essential to good manifesta- 
tions. To challenge the genuineness of a manifestation upon 
the offer of money to produce it, or upon a wager, is to create 
a resistent force that will generally so disturb the conditions as 
to prevent the manifestation. In the light of this fact, what 
course would the true scientist naturally pursue in searching 
for the truth ? 

The most sterling manhood is almost invariably self-made. 
It is the hard struggle with poverty, and other seemingly un- 
friendly conditions of life, that give keenness to one's faculties. 
This struggle has made a success of many a man who, with a 
fortune to start with, would have grown limp and good for 
nothing. In fact, there are but very few of our men of wealth 
or worth of to-day who did not start at the bottom of fortune's 
ladder. 



90 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

FUNERAL, CEREMONIES. 



The Spiritualistic world is hardly yet prepared to accept 
cremation as a proper means for the disposal of the bodies of 
the dead. While many approve the theory as applied to other 
people's dead, but few are quite ready to adopt the practice as 
regards their own. Still there is a compromise ground on 
which all ought to be willing to stand. All Spiritualists will 
admit that our present expensive funeral system, with its 
showy hearse and casket, and its long procession of hired 
hacks, is not the proper manner to show our respect for the 
dead ; it is, besides, not at all consistent with our belief. A 
much better way would be to consign the body to earth in an 
unexpensive way, privately and without the least ceremony, 
and then on the following Sunday, say, (as that day is more 
convenient for a public assemblage.) hold a memorial, or resur- 
rection service, in honor of the departed. This service could 
be made most expressive and instructive. It should be free 
from all funeral trappings. The hall or home where it is held 
should be decorated with flowers and vines, and instead of one 
speaker, we would invite all who felt so disposed, to assist in 
making the occasion worthy of the risen spirit. This, it seems 
to us, would be a happy improvement on our present funeral 
system. 

4-°+ 

DON'T CROWD. 



Don't crowd. The world is broad and wide. There is 
room for all, and enough for all, if those who already have more 
than their share will only stop crowding. Why should any one 
want more than he can wisely use? It only brings a burden of 
care that is anything but happiness. One of the richest men 
in this state, one who is devoting a large share of his many 
millions to a mighty educational enterprise, was recently asked 
his opinion upon the subject. He replied that his great wealth 






A LITTLE WHILE. 9 I 

brought him anything but rest and comfort. On the other hand, 
it was a source of perpetual annoyance to him. It bound him 
a slave to the wheels of drudgery and hard, unceasing work. 
Far better for his own happiness if he possessed only a humble 
competency. Such, we doubt not, is the experience of all rich 
men ; they are slaves to their possessions. But not all are so 
wisely decorating their chains with beautiful flowers of the spirit 
as he of whom we speak. My hard-working, wealth-seeking 
brother or sister, thank God, and take courage, that you are 
not rich. 

+U+ 

A LITTLE WHILE. 



A little while and the dream of life will be ended ; the 
curtain will fall, the lights be turned out, and we shall go to 
our homes to sleep till the morning dawns. And what a morn- 
ing that will be ! Did its full significance ever occur to you, 
dear reader ? As you wake to consciousness, you will find 
yourself surrounded, perhaps, by a circle of happy faces, of 
those near and dear to you, who went out from your mortal 
life and left you crushed and desolate. A fond mother, a 
precious child, a beloved wife or husband, all waiting to give 
you a glad greeting and welcome to your spirit home. Who 
talks to you now of woe, of pain or sorrow, as the roseate 
dawning of that first new day in the "land beyond the river," 
breaks upon your enraptured vision ! A little while, aged 
brother, sister, and the Angel of Delieverance will invite you 
to lay your burden down and rest. 

joj 

There is no one virtue that Spiritualists need to cultivate 
quite as much as that of forbearance with those who do not 
agree with them. Here, for instance, is some medium that 
scores of good, honest people believe in — whose genuineness 
they claim to know ; while other scores are equally certain 
that said medium is a shameless trickster and cheat. Neither 



92 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

party is willing to tolerate the opinions of the other, and so 
they allow the serenity of their souls to become disturbed with 
unkind feeling toward each other. Ah, friends, it is of far less- 
consequence to you that said medium is dishonest, or other- 
wise, than it is that your own life is made sweet and beautiful. 



LET US PRAY. 



Not to a personal God, for we have no evidence that 
there is any such being in the Universe. Not for the purpose 
of changing any law of nature, or persuading the Infinite En- 
ergy, called by many names, to do what He or It would other- 
wise not do ; but simply because prayer is a natural attribute 
of the unfolded spirit, and by it the spirit is brought into beau- 
tiful unison and harmony with the Spirit of Nature — with the 
magnetic currents of sympathetic thoughts of love, and good- 
ness, that flow in and about all human life upon this planet,, 
and connect it with the higher forms of life of all planets. 
True prayer is simply an aspiration for the best in one's own 
soul, and in all other souls. The truly spiritual man is com- 
pelled to pray, in this sense, and he cannot help it. 



There never was so much honor and virtue in the world 
as there is now — never so much charity, or goodness — never 
so much aspiration and striving for the higher life. It is true 
that vice abounds, — so did it ever. But never so little as now. 
The race is slowly but surely coming "up the steeps of time." 






Press on, O pilgrim, journeying through the valley and 
shadow of time. There is a station just ahead where you can 
lay aside your burdens and rest fur the night — the night that 
bridges the chasm between two eternities, the past and the 
future. Beyond, you will find the journey easy and the burden 
light — if you so will it here. 



DOGMATISM. 93 

DOGMATISM. 



Suppose the universe is governed by law, as it doubtless 
is, then what is law, where did it come from, and who made it ? 
May there not be a Something behind law that we know noth- 
ing about ? The Spiritualist possesses a knowledge of spirit- 
ual things that the Materialist denies. Why should the former 
deny the possibility of the existence of far greater spiritual 
realities whereof he has no knowledge ? It becomes us all, in 
our researches through Nature, to be humble and modest in 
our conclusions. Dogmatic theology has been the evil genius 
of humanity. Dogmatism in science is but little better. What 
most of us do not know about Nature, and its pulsating ener- 
gies, would make many large volumes. 



Ye shining ones, look down in tender pity upon the heart 
where nestles no brood of loving thoughts — no holy desire for 
another's welfare — no gentle promptings to a better life. If 
there is a being in the universe who, more than another, needs 
our deepest sympathy, it is that one. 

* 

The man who, from choice, would live the life of a cele- 
bate — going and coming from his solitary den through all the 
dreary years of his existence, until death claims him for his 
own, — with no gentle welcome home, nor parting blessing as 
he goes forth to mingle with the world, — with no loving hand 
to smooth the wrinkles of care from his brow, — and with no 
eye to shed a tear upon his grave, — is a is unwise ! 

What better protection from evil associations can a young 
man or woman have than the thought that the eyes of a loving 
spirit mother are upon them, and her gentle presence ever near 
them when they would go astray ? If Spiritualism is a good 
thing for the aged, affording them comfort and happiness as 



94 ' SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

they near the dark river of death, is it not far better for the 
young as they move amid the temptations and vicissitudes of 
life? 

Those good people, who, with their eyes set in the back 
■of their heads, are forever prating of the "good old days," and 
drawing comparisons between the past and the present, highly 
unfavorable to the latter, should visit the ruined cities of 
Pompeii and Herculaneum, recently unearthed from the horrid 
nightmare of raging Vesuvius. They will there see evidences of 
moral degradation which would forever close their mouths to the 
•superior excellence of the people of past ages. 

Don't worry yourselves by disturbing the palpitant air with 
"bewailings for your sins. That is a matter the remedy for 
which is in your own hands. If you are under the dominion 
•of sin, why not throw off the yoke and step forth a free man ? 
Salvation from sin is simply ceasing to do evil and learning to 
do well. If you know the wrong, why persist in doing it ? 
And above all, do not lay the responsibility of your sinful acts 
*rpon the shoulders of another. There is enough of divinity 
in every soul to save it, if it but thinks so. 

* 

"O wad some. power the giftie gie us, 
To see oursels as ithers see us," 

So sang the Scottish bard; but the "giftie," are not, 
unfortunately, as far as heard from, able to bestow that power 
upon mortals. At least but very few of us seem to have the 
power of visional introspection to the extent desired by the 
poet. Some people are shocked at defects they see in others, 
when the same or greater defects constitute the most prominent 
features of their own lives and characters. They diagnose 
others' cases by their own prevailing symptoms, and prescribe 
accordingly ; but they seldom take their own medicine. 



THE DEAREST SPOT. 95 

THE DEAREST SPOT. 



What are the dearest spots in one's memory, around which 
one most delights to linger ? Are they not those occasions 
when some loving thought found expression, or some noble 
and generous action was done ? Do w r e ever cherish the recol- 
lection of our meanness — of the things w r e would gladly forget ? 
In some moment of anger, or thoughtlessness, who is there 
that has not said or done something he would gladly recall ? 
And how such things will rankle in a sensitive memory, some- 
times all through life. An unkind act will place a thorn in the 
pillow, which only sincere penitence and long suffering can re- 
move. What though one may have suffered from kindness un- 
worthily bestowed, the virtue is in the act, not in the abuse of 
it. If the memory of good deeds always brings happiness, and 
of evil deeds unhappiness, are we not cruel to ourselves when- 
ever we indulge in the performance of the latter? 

The best antidote for vice and crime of all kinds is work, 
and a plenty of it. If the young man who delights to hang 
around the saloons, or dance and dawdle attendance upon 
some pretty miss with a pretty hand, and nothing to do ; — if 
the young woman whose head is "bequackled" with the "fel- 
lows," and who thinks of nothing but dress, and her many ad- 
mirers — were both set at hard work — the former at some good 
trade, and the latter at good, honest housework, or at some 
other respectable employment, that required ten good hours of 
their time every day, they would both, in the coming years, be 
happier and wiser. 

How like the refreshing raindrops upon the dry and 
parched earth, or the soft glow of the summer sun that falls 
upon the hearts of the opening flowers, falls the warmth and 
glow of a kind word and loving thought upon the tired heart, 
hungry for sympathy and kindness. How very easy it is to 



96 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

make one's self beloved by one's neighbors and friends ; and 
just as easy to make one's self disliked. People who succeed 
in the latter respect often complain of what they alone are 
wholly responsible for, and do not actually know it. What a 
grand world this will be to live in when we all learn to practice 
the Golden Rule. 



NOT THE ALL OF LIFE. 



It is only when one's spirit soars above the material plane 
and into the realm of soul, that he really learns to live. It is 
then one comes to a recognition of the fact that the things of 
earth — wealth, fame, the pursuits of trade, and all that pertains 
to earthly affairs — are not the all of life ; that in fact, there are 
spiritual delights infinitely above those of the physical senses, 
to which the mere worldling is a stranger. It may be thought 
by some that such spiritual unfoldment or exaltation would un- 
fit one for the necessities and duties of life on the earth plane. 
On the other hand, it especially prepares and qualifies one for 
the true work of life in its better and higher sense. It makes 
one reasonable in his wants and desires, and takes out of his 
nature that narrow selfishness that would exalt one's self at the 
expense of the rights and needs of his fellow men. Instead 
of derogating from his usefulness as a citizen, it ennobles him 
and crowns his citizenship with the glory of an exalted man- 
hood. 

We should build our characters upon the Rock of Truth; 
for thereby we are building for the ages — for eternity. We 
surely do not want to go into the other life with our work half 
done, — wholly unprepared for the change. We should know 
something of the place whither we are going, and what we shall 
expect to do when we get there. And especially should we 
know what kind of preparation will best fit us for the new life 
upon which we all, sooner or later, must enter. We should not 



IT DOKSN T PAY 



97 



encumber our spirits with any useless baggage. If we are wise we 
will cut ourselves loose, and leave behind us all weights to the 
spirit's advancement. And we cannot begin this grand work 
any too soon. 



IT DOESN'T VAX 



It doesn't pay to thrust spiritual facts upon the attention 
of people not ready to receive them. We only get ourselves 
suspected of lunacy, and accomplish no good. There is a 
proper time and a place for all things. Wait till the heart 
grows tender from some great sorrow — till death has taken 
away some loved one — then they will listen to you, and you 
can tell them of the priceless love of the angels ; that death is 
but a change of conditions, and that the way has been opened 
for communion with the precious one whose body they have 
laid away in the grave. No one who has never had this 
experience can realize the wonderful joy that the knowledge of 
spirit communion brings to the stricken heart. Hope and 
faith in the promises of Christianity — even the firm belief in a 
resurrection to life everlasting, and a home in the fabled 
heaven of the Church, brings no comfort like this — the 
positive knowledge that your dear one lives, and comes to 
gladden your heart with that knowledge. 



The young woman of eighteen and young man of twenty- 
one who haven't yet found out what they are here for, have 
missed their reckoning in some way and got into the world by 
mistake. This is no world for unsettled people — for people 
who do not know exactly what ails them, or what was intended 
in their coming here. The man who waits for circumstances 
to adjust themselves to his convenience stands a poor show in 
the competitive struggle with the one who makes his own cir- 
cumstances, and adjusts himself thereto, seizing the opportun- 
ity, as it were, before it is born. 



9 8 

WHENCE AND WHITHER. 



Infinite heights of being ! Beyond, above all thought of 
time or comprehension of soul encased in matter ! Whence 
and whither? Onward and upward forever, through such 
sweeps of space and time as stagger thought and hold in 
suspense the breath of infinite being. What is the momentary 
sense of earth life compared with the illimitable beyond ? A 
heart-beat to the life of the sun — a moment to an eternity of 
ages. And yet we live here as though this were the all of 
being — as though our physical needs were to last forever, and 
the heaps of rubbish we rake together were to benefit us in 
some way when our mortal bodies themselves become rubbish. 
Why not strike out for something higher and better in this life 
by making each moment a prophecy of the higher life to come. 



MEDIUMSHIP AND MORALITY 



It is a generally accepted fact in spiritual circles that 
mediumship and morality are in nowise related to each other 
— that a good medium may be a deplorably dishonest man or 
woman. And this is one of the stumbling blocks in the way 
of the advancement of our Cause. Why it is that good spirits 
should seek to return to earth through corrupt channels, is a 
puzzling problem. That they do so is beyond question ; but 
that they would prefer to communicate through honest medi- 
ums is also no doubt true. And herein, perhaps, we may dis- 
cover the key to the solution of the problem: Mediumship is 
a physical condition wholly depending upon a certain peculiar 
status of the material elements of the body. There can be 
no dishonesty in matter. Thus, the spirit who finds the way 
open, comes, without any thought of. the moral qualities of the 
man or woman whose body furnishes the way. We go by rail- 
road or steamboat to visit our friends in a distant city, but do 
we ever stop to consider the moral character of the engineer 



THE "KNOCK DOWN ARGUMENT. 99 

who runs the train, or the pilot who guides the vessel? No- 
one would think of requiring credentials of good character 
from the postmaster or telegrapher through whom one would 
communicate with his friends. That is probably the way in 
which spirits look upon dishonest mediums. They take no 
note of their dishonesty, so long as the message goes through 
to its destination all right. 

+0+ 

THE "KNOCKDOWN" ARGUMENT. 



You cannot win souls by what is called "Knock down 
arguments." You may antagonize and disgust, but you cannot 
convince. Our teachers and speakers should ever bear this in 
mind. The thought that goes on its mission barbed and 
feathered with the spirit of love and good-will, will cleave its 
way through all barriers of opposition straight to the heart ; 
while the same thought, sent forth in a harsh and uncharitable 
spirit, will simply embitter and disgust. There are those who 
delight in seeing the cherished opinions of others rudely assailed, 
who would repel as a personal insult, any rude assault upon 
their own cherished opinions. There can be but one wise rule 
of human action, and that is the Golden Rule. 

The writer is thoroughly satisfied that there is only one 
way whereby man can be led to the truth — only one way to 
overcome the evil in human lives, and bring men into harmony 
with the Divine Life — and that is by the flower-strewn path- 
way of love. Nor abuse, nor ridicule, nor unkind thoughts, 
will accomplish this. "As ye sow so also shall ye reap." 
If you would make an undeveloped man hate you treat him 
unkindly ; if you would make a religious bigot despise you rid- 
icule his religion ; if you Mould make the world skeptical of 
your facts as Spiritualists, and wish not to know you, throw 
mud at each other, and bedaub your own spirits with the slime 
of uncharitable thoughts. 



IOO SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

The higher love is an unselfish love, a love that reaches 
out far beyond the confines of one's immediate kindred — a 
love that honors all life, and can do no harm. The she tiger 
will die for her cubs — could a human mother do more? Both 
are governed by the same law to that extent ; but beyond that 
is a mighty realm of love whereof the brute knows nothing — a 
realm of eternal growth and everlasting delights. It is only the 
advanced spirit — the spirit that has risen superior to self — that 
has learned to explore this higher lealm. 

THINK KINDLY OF THE ERRING. 



It is better to think kindly of the erring, even though 
they may persist in their evil ways, than unkindly or harshly. 
What right have those who are better organized and educated 
than their less fortunate fellows to think otherwise than kindly ? 
Is it any particular credit to the one, or discredit to the other, 
that they are what they are ? Is the fox to be blamed for be- 
ing a fox, or the snake for being a snake ? Is not all animal 
life — human life included — very much what it is made to be ? 
If one, by virtue of better birth, and a better developed moral 
nature, lives wisely and righteously, ought not the fact of the 
possession of these superior qualities to fill his soul with ten- 
der sympathy towards all who are not thus favored? We can- 
not avoid the responsibility of a common brotherhood of the 
race, even though some of the family are not what they should be. 



Whoever harbors an evil thought entertains a burglar and 
a thief — one who is sure to rob him in the end. To give ex- 
pression to such a thought is to invite evil to one's self — is in- 
deed to become evil. There is only one line of life to pursue 
to obtain true happiness, and that is the straight and narrow 
way of Good Will — to think kindly and act kindly towards all. 
Whoever departs from this way only prolongs the journey be- 



A SUBLIME FALLACY. IOI 

fore him. It is as though one should leave the beaten path 
while journeying through a dense forest. The result would be 
garments and flesh torn with briars and thorns, and no great 
headway made. 

A SUBLIME FALLACY. 



" The world owes me a living," says one, not over-indus- 
trious or thrifty. It does, does it? Now, it owes you nothing 
that you do not earn by honest labor with head or hands. 
What right have you to eat the bread of idleness, earned by 
others' labor, and claim that the world owes it to you ? Did it 
never occur to you that not even the elements of your physi- 
cal body — the lime in your bones, or the iron in your blood, 
are your property. They have only been loaned to you for a 
while by Mother Nature to enable you the better to obtain the 
^experiences that your spirit stands in need of. You will have 
to deliver them up some day, when your spirit takes its depart- 
ure out and into the Beyond ; you will not be allowed to take 
with you a single atom. Don't make that dear old Mother 
ashamed of herself that she ever loaned you the ingredients for 
.a man, and you made a worthless mess of it ! Don't make 
her feel sad to think, when you pass on, that she will get back 
her raw material for a man, and nothing more. 

We shall never find any better heaven than that we carry 
around with us in our hearts. He who takes his own life to 
escape from trouble commits a stupendous folly. If he would 
get his spirit into harmony with the divine law of being, root 
out all evil and set up the throne of righteousness in himself, 
he would never do so unwise a thing, but would patiently 
-endure all the ills of life to the end. And yet in the light (or 
darkness rather) of materialism, suicide is a natural and reason- 
ble escape from trouble. Ignorance of the consequences of 
he act will not atone for the mistake. 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

Perfection is found nowhere — all humanity is struggling 
up the heights, even though some portion of it may seem to 
be slipping backward. But it is with the latter only to get 
another and better start — if not in this life, then, perhaps, in 
the next. Man has come up out of an infinite past, and he has 
an infinite future before him. The present is his opportunity 
of growth and unfoldment. If he is wise, he will improve it to 
the utmost. The golden hours of this mortal day are swiftly 
speeding by. Behold the night cometh ! 



VENERATION. 



The Materialist may ridicule the idea of veneration for r 
and worship of a Supreme Being, but can he do so except at 
the expense of his spiritual nature ? The ox that grazes the 
field, and the swine that feeds upon the acorn, have no 
thought of the whence their maintenance comes, or the where- 
fore of their existence. Shall man imitate the swine and the 
ox in this respect, and glory therein? Shall he take delight in 
the thought that he is superior to the brute only in an intellect- 
ual sense? Would you build an arch and leave out the key- 
stone ? Would you create an angel without the unfoldment of 
the higher spiritual faculties, whereof reverence for the Infinite 
Something we name God is the chiefest ? In the light of true 
spirituality what a puny, insignificant thing is man ! How it 
becomes him to lay aside all vanity and pride — all sense of his. 
own importance — and walk humbly as he grows into a better 
and truer manhood. In no other spirit is it possible for him 
to grow. 

Come up higher, brother, sister — up and out from the 
mists and shadows of the valley — from the realm of unworthy 
thoughts and things — into the pure air and bright sunshine 
of God's eternal highlands. There, and there only, is peace,, 
strength and lasting happiness. 



IS SPIRITUALISM A RELIGION. IO3 

IS SPIRITUALISM A RELIGION? 



Is Spiritualism a religion ? That depends upon how we 
take it and what it stands for with us. If we regard it simply 
as a demonstrated fact of nature, there can be nothing of what 
is understood to be religion in it. But if it means the bring- 
ing of the human spirit into harmony with the Divine Spirit, 
reacting upon the former in the unfoldment of all that is true 
and beautiful, and leading it onward and upward, into a better 
way of life, then is it indeed a religion in the highest sense. 
Man, as a spiritual, but not as an intellectual being, needs and 
must have a religion of some kind. Why may he not, as a 
Spiritualist, make his Spiritualism broad enough to embrace all 
that his nature may require of religion ? He needs no vica- 
rious atonement, no ecclesiasticism of any kind, but only to 
conform his life to the simple rules of right living taught by all 
advanced spirits. That is the best and truest religion. "To 
do good is my religion," said Thomas Paine. Can there be 
any better religion than this? 

EMERGING INTO THE LIGHT. 



From what a night of theological darkness the world is 
emerging ! From the cruel, heart-crushing Calvinism of a half 
century ago, with its stern, revengeful, awful Being of infinite wrath 
and hate, who for his glory consigned all but a small portion 
of the human race to everlasting torment, to the gentle, loving 
Father, leading his children by ways they may not know into 
the light and likeness of himself. Although lacking the moral 
courage to modify their written creeds, which not one in ten 
actually believes, there is scarcely an intelligent clergyman in 
the evangelical churches to-day who pretends to preach or teach 
the doctrines of the church as taught fifty years ago. A few 
years hence they will be compelled to make an entire new 
statement of dogma or preach to empty pews. 



104 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

FOR AVHAT PURPOSE. 



If a man has not a religious side to his nature, for what pur- 
pose was the organ of veneration placed in the brain ? Phren- 
ology teaches us that the frontal brain of man contains the 
organs of the intellect, the back brain those of the animal pro- 
pensities, while the dome, or center of the arch, is the region 
of the spiritual faculties — veneration, hope, reverence, benevo- 
lence, etc. If there were no Supreme Intelligence — nothing 
in the universe worthy of adoration or worship, why were these 
faculties placed in the human brain? Admit that the universe 
is governed by law, has law intelligence ? Can it design the 
pattern of a butterfly's wing ? Can it plan a human eye or ear? 
Say, if you please, that this Mighty Mystery w r hich we call God 
recedes as science advances, still there must ever be an infinite 
realm where science can never penetrate— a realm of the Un~ 
known and the Unknowable — a something behind and before, 
and interblending with law, that is superior to law. Why 
ignore this thought, O Materialist ! Is it not written in letters 
of living light in the constitution of man? 



One of the first fruits of the " gift of the spirit " is that of 
being able to sense the spiritual status of those with whom one 
comes in contact. He reads his fellow-beings, whenever he 
chooses to do so, as from an open book. He cannot tell you 
how or why, but he kitoins, and that knowledge is almost in- 
fallible. In the higher unfoldment of this wonderful faculty 
one may ever know in whom to put his trust. Armed with this 
power how many of "the rocks and shoals of time " may be 
avoided. 

It is only when one comes to know and accept the fact 
of the psychic form manifestation that he is qualified or pre- 
pared to judge justly or wisely of this phase of mediumship. 
Until he can disabuse his mind of all unjust suspicion, and 



TEACHINGS OF JESUS. 105 

enter upon the investigation of the subject with a gentle, rever- 
ent and loving spirit, the forms of his spirit friends will not, 
indeed they can not, come to him, if at all, with any degree of 
positiveness. But once the way is broken, communion with 
the spirit world becomes a beautiful and ennobling fellowship, 
lifting the thoughts and aspirations into all goodness. 



TEACHINGS OF JESUS. 



What is there in the simple teachings of Jesus, as set 
forth in the Sermon on the Mount, and in his re -affirmation of 
the pagan doctrine of the Golden Rule, to warrant the pomp 
and mummery witnessed in the name of Christianity to-day ? 
What is there in his simple statement of immortal principles to 
justify the Thirty-nine Articles and Confessions of Faith, held 
in some form by all branches of the Christian Church, from 
Rome to the Seventh Day Adventists ? Is it not apparent to 
all thoughtful minds that the whole machinery of ecclesiasticism 
is a cunning devise of men intended to befog the minds of the 
people the better to command their consciences ? The simple 
gospel of Jesus was free from all these strange devices. It was 
not until centuries after the death of the Nazarene that this 
fungus growth appeared upon the body of true Christianity, 
where it has remained ever since to obstruct the Way. 



Ignorance is the cause of all discord. Those who know 
the truth should be patient and charitable with those who do 
not, ever remembering that they themselves were once in dark- 
ness and saw not the light. 

Don't waste your time trying to find the heart of a man 
or a woman who doesn't love children. There isn't enough of 
it to bother with when found. Wait till it grows, unless you 
can help it to grow, which is better still. 






106 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

RELIGION OF LOVE. 



The religion of love, of kind thoughts, of unselfish charity, 
of generous acts — this is all there is of it of any worth to the 
world. All else is useless rubbish. We pay vast sums of 
money for costly church edifices that are unoccupied six days 
out of seven, and vainly imagine that we are serving God 
thereby. There is no religion in that. Far better had we 
used the money to establish homes for the poor, or co-operative 
farms, shops and factories, where the humble toiler could be 
relieved of the fierce struggle for bread he is now compelled to 
endure. The strong will dominate the weak just so long as 
competition in the necessary work of the world endures. Give 
us the religion of good deeds, the religion of love, of temperance 
and charity, and the church may have its robes and mitres, its 
swinging censors, its catechisms, prayer-books and beads, its 
high steeples and higher priced ministers. We believe in 
bringing heaven down into this life, and not in leading man 
through a maze of superstitious obscurity in the hope that we 
may find it in the next. 

Envy and Jealously are the two demons that sit on either 
hand at the gateway of men's souls, where they feed and thrive 
on the moral garbage from within. They are never seen where 
love abides in the soul, or where the spirit has grown into the 
likeness of the All Good. They are ungainly monsters, whose 
presence is always odious, and whose breath is malaria and 
death. 

The Spiritualism that would under-estimate the importance 
of phenomena in the dissemination of our spiritual gospel, is 
quite as erratic as that which lives wholly upon phenomena. 
First the foundation (the phenomena), and then the super- 
structure (the religion and philosophy). Each is essential to 
the other. 



SKIMMING THE SURFACE. 1 07 

SKIMMING THE SURFACE. 



If we would get out of Spiritualism its purest joys and 
sweetest delights, we must bring its higher teachings home to 
our hearts, and practice them in our daily walk and conduct. 
There are heights upon heights, and depths upon depths, in 
•our beautiful philosophy, that many a believer in our facts 
hasn't the slightest idea of. He skims the surface of Spiritual- 
ism without turning his gaze to the star-gemmed vault above, 
•or ever sending a thought down into its crystal depths below. 
The truly spiritual soul drinks in those heavenly joys until his 
or her countenance (for it is woman more often that enjoys this 
divine beatitude) shines as with the light of heaven. There 
can be no better Christian, no better Pagan or Jew, no better 
man or angel than the true Spiritualist. 

In presenting our spiritual facts and philosophy to the 
world, we must, to create a lively demand, show we have a 
better article of goods than are offered by our neighbors ; and 
this we can not do by crying down their wares, but by estab- 
lishing the superiority of our own. If our lecturers, writers, 
and contemporaries of the spiritual press, would but act upon 
this suggestion — if they would seek for more of the spiritual in 
their own natures, and strive to excel each other in the exercise 
of all that conduces to nobility of character and true manliness, 
what a mighty impetus would it not give to our cause. 

* * 

We wonder what our Adventist friends would have to say 
of the little four-year-old boy who, waking from his sleep one 
night, while his baby sister, lying in a crib near by, surrounded 
by anxious friends, was passing away, rose up in his bed 
exclaiming, "O, mamma, mamma, see the pretty ladies! they 
are taking baby away!" an account of which appeared in a 
recent issue of the Golden Gate. Would they say that the 
Lord had sent this delusion to that little child ? — that there were 



Io8 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

no "pretty ladies" there? — that the baby had no spirit separate 

from its body to be taken away, and that what seemed so was 

the work of Satan ? 

* 

Many a man in this world begins to die before he is one- 
half grown. Instead of pushing onward and upward, as he 
should, gaining in wisdom and knowledge with his years, and 
evolving the grand possibilities of his nature, he reaches a 
point of stupid mediocrity, and there he stops and stagnates ; 
and when he should be ripe and beautiful in soul he is found 
to be fossilized and covered with moss. 

Age does not belong to the spirit. We have a jolly friend,, 
now in his ninety-fourth year, whose heart is as young as ever 
it was, with all the added wisdom and beauty that years are 
supposed to bring. The moss and barnacles of mental and 
spiritual inaction have never stuck to him. The fact is he has 
never found time to stop growing, and never will, through all 
the countless ages of eternity. 

What an empty bauble is fashionabfe society life. To live 
to dress, to shine, to flutter butterfly wings in the sunshine of 
worldly advantage, with never a heart-beat for the sorrow and 
suffering of others, for the overburdened lives, for the " spirits 
in prison," for the sin-sick, for the souls struggling for the light, — 
ah ! is not this to live the life of utter misuse and worthlessness ! 
Better far a daily struggle for bread, with longings all unsatisfied, 
if but the spirit be kept sweet and tender, and the affections and 
sympathies pure. 

If, in the light of the truly developed spirit, we could look 
out upon the world of humanity with all its imperfections and 
undeveloped conditions — if we could see and understand the 
marvelous springs of action, the secret workings and motives 
that dominate human action — as we shall sometime, — what a 



CHRONIC FAULT FINDING. 



I 09 



tidal wave of sympathy for our erring fellow beings would sweep 
over our souls. How little we know the harm we do to the 
erring one, also to ourselves, when we harshly condemn. It 
would humble us all in our own conceit, if we knew as we are 
known. 



CHRONTC FAULT FINDING. 



Chronic fault-finding with the shortcomings of other reli- 
gious systems is not the way to advance the cause of Spiritual- 
ism. We must show to the world that we have something 
more natural and philosophical than the old religious beliefs — 
something better to live by — something that, properly directed, 
calls into livelier action all the innate goodness of the unde- 
veloped nature. Look, ye railers against the church, at the 
broad charities of the Christian world — its great universities, 
its vast missionary systems, its splendid churches, its asylums, 
publishing houses, kindergartens, and other mighty efforts for 
the uplifting of humanity, and then consider what Spiritualism 
is doing in like directions ! Modesty should make us pause 
and reflect. In the infancy of this new revelation to the 
world, ere we have "won our spurs," we should be less aggres- 
sive toward other systems, and more zealous to impress upon 
the thought of the world the merits of our cause. 



It is said that no man is wholly sane ; that is, each indi- 
vidual has some quirk or hobby not common with the rest. 
Indeed, a perfectly balanced mind — one equally developed in 
all directions of its nature — is something that does not exist. 
It is, perhaps, well that it does not, for therein only is found 
excellence. This would be a very tame world, a world of 
monotonous mediocrity, but for the exceptional insanity of 
some — or rather, the disposition of some to an abnormal de- 
velopment in special directions, which is but another name for 
insanity. It is only when this tendency becomes violent and 
hurtful that society finds it necessary to interpose restraints. 



HO SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

EYES TO THE FRONT. 



All religions have been the outgrowth of the civilization 
of the age in which they existed ; and, if not the best products 
of their age, it was due to the undeveloped condition of the 
human race. Thus, to quarrel with the old systems is childish. 
One might as well find fault with his anthropoid ancestor for 
being an ape, or with his mother for having red hair. The 
question should not be, What of the religions of the past ? but 
What shall be religion of the future ? That is something for 
the present race to determine. The intolerance, cruelty, mis- 
conceptions of God, and persecution for opinion's sake, of the 
past, are all beyond our reach ; they have gone into history 
and cannot be changed. With eyes to the front, we should 
move forward in the pathway of progress, leaving the dead past 
to bury its dead. 

SECRET SPRINGS OF POWER. 



Did it never occur to you, dear reader, that power, wisely 
exercised, is the greatest of harmonizers? Now, property is one 
of the secret springs of power, and perhaps the most potent 
one. Take the cohesive element of property — of church 
edifices, universities, book concerns, etc., — away from any of 
the religious sects, and what weight of influence would they 
have in the world? They agree because they can not well 
afford to disagree. Spiritualists, having none of this unifying 
element, agree to little or nothing, and that in so weak a way 
as to carry no weight with it. Give to the Cause fine temples 
erected for spiritual uses, with assembly and seance rooms, free 
library and reading rooms, a book depository and a live press, 
and a change like a new creation would come over the now 
somewhat chaotic elements of Spiritualism. 



We do not agree with Chas. Dawbarn that morality is all 
there is either in Christianity or Spiritualism that is of any 






MOVING FORWARD. I I I 

value; neither do we believe with him that there can be any 
religion without morality. An observance of the forms of 
Christianity or religion, merely, is not religion ; neither is the 
mere acceptance of the facts of Spiritualism religion. There 
is something more than morality, something broader and deep- 
er — an exercise of the higher spiritual faculties — reverence, 
aspiration, love, devotion — that constitutes what we term re- 
ligion. And this is the true gospel of Spiritualism, as it is of 
Christianity. It is the heart of all systems of religious belief. 



MOVING FORWARD. 



The spirit world is ever moving forward to a purpose. It 
takes no note of the things which do most disturb the serenity 
of mortal minds, in the presentation of spiritual truths ; but 
presses into its service all who are able to bear arms — that is, 
all who can be used to bring its grand truths before the world 
of humanity. Its ministers and evangels may fall by the way- 
side, or follow the tempter of lust or gold into unbidden ways, 
and straightway it finds new recruits among young and old, in 
quiet Christian homes, in the abodes of skeptics and unbe- 
lievers, and the good work goes onward, ever onward, to the 
glorious end of man's spiritual unfoldment, and the conscious 
interblending of the two worlds. Spiritualism has a stronger 
hold upon the world to-day than ever before. 
XoX 

We are weary of this everlasting mouthing of the foolish 
conceit we so often hear, that "I am holier than thou." There 
are those who are so pure and lovely — in their own eyes — so 
far above their neighbors in moral excellence, that one natur- 
ally wonders how they manage to hold themselves down to 
earth. It would seem that they ought to be soaring in em- 
pyreal ether, with a pair of back-action, triple-jointed wings, 
leaving a streak of condensed glory in their wake. They are 
all too pure for earth. 



112 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

If a rich man, dying, bestows his wealth upon some 
church, or for the endowment of some theological seminary, 
or to send the gospel to the heathen — if he even leaves a 
large sum for the senseless mummery of masses fox the repose 
of his soul — he is a noble philanthropist ; but if, being a 
Spiritualist, he bequeathes his property for the promotion of 
the cause of Spiritualism, he is insane ! No matter how level- 
headed he may be upon all other subjects, his heirs immedi- 
ately set about the task of proving him non compus mentis in 
the matter of disposing of his own ; and judicial owls upon 
the bench and before the bar blink stupid assent to the propo- 
sition. It will not always be thus. 

There are many of the brightest minds in the lands — 
judges, journalists, politicians, poets, statesmen — who accept 
the facts upon which Spiritualists base their knowledge of a 
future life, and some of whom do not hesitate to acknowledge, 
in private, their belief in the philosophy of Spiritualism, but 
who are not classed as Spiritualists. They do not choose to 
pin their faith upon their sleeve, and it is not at all important, 
or necessary, that they should. They are doing a good work 
in a quiet way, among people whom, as out and out Spiritual- 
ists, they could not reach. Truth does not always require 
martyrdom of its votaries. There is sound wisdom, sometimes, 

in the exercise of a little policy. 

* 

When some weak medium yields to temptation and goes 
astray, straightway the pharisees of the religious press, and the 
time servers and quidnuncs of the political, immediately ele- 
vate their muzzles, and howl in lugubrious concert. Just as 
though sin was any blacker, or wickedness more reprehensible, 
when practiced by a Spiritualist than by an orthodox minister. 
Why can't men be honest and just, if they do think differently 
on religious questions ? 



THE SUCCESSFUL MAN. I 1 3 

THE SUCCESSFUL MAN. 



Who is the successful man ? Is it the one with title-deeds 
to vast estates, with a large rent-roll and plethoric bank ac- 
count ? Or is it the man who has stored his mind with useful 
knowledge, and brought his spirit under the dominion of wis- 
dom, love and truth ? That life is the greatest success whose 
possessions afford the highest degree of happiness, and endure 
the longest. What is the brief span of human existence as 
compared with eternity — a drop of water to the ocean, an 
atom to the universe. Earthly possessions perish with our 
capacity to enjoy them ; and we cannot surely enjoy them 
when we cease to control them ; or, rather, when we pass be- 
yond the conditions of earth wherein they alone exist. Look 
back over the lives of men — was Nero a more successful man 
than old John Brown, or William Sharon than the humblest 
toiler who labors faithfully to support his family and train up 
his children in ways of virtue and usefulness? 

" It is all the world to me, the comfort I derive from my 
knowledge of a future life, and from my communion with my 
spirit friends," remarked a worthy lady to us the other day. 
This is the common experience of all who have entered the 
inner temple of our beautiful religion and have learned the 
better way of life. There is something in Spiritualism infinitely 
higher and better than a mere belief in its phenomenal facts, — 
and that is its religion. Until one experiences this religion he 
knows but very little of the real comfort, and serene satisfac- 
tion that may be derived from a knowledge of spiritual things. 

How barren and empty must seem the bauble of wealth 
or worldly fame to the spirit just awakened to consciousness 
upon the other shore. If the opportunities wealth affords for 
blessing the world have been neglected, then how doubly 
barren, and even harmful, it must appear. 



114 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

WHAT WE NEED. 



It is not what one really needs, but in what one thinks he 
needs, and cannot have, that consists the inharmonies and 
miseries of existence. If we could only school our spirits to be 
content with but few of the perishable treasures of earth, 
while ever seeking and aspiring for those riches of the spirit 
that endure forever, we should find a happiness and joy of 
which most of us but little dream. Man commits a terrible 
mistake in imagining that wealth, or fame, or worldly advantages 
of any kind, are essential to his true happiness. For do they 
not all fade away? And does not man himself, in time, come 
to regard them with utter indifference — that is, when the cold 
waves of dissolution break at his feet? There is no wealth 
like that of a soul rich in the graces of goodness. 



My friend comes to me from the spirit side of life; he 
writes me a loving message between closed slates held in my 
own hand, and signs his name in his old familiar way : he 
entrances some medium and recalls familiar scenes, and awakens 
old memories, known only to us two; some clairvoyant sees 
and describes him accurately ; he controls the elements and 
temporarily presents himself to me in tangible form, and I look 
into his face, and know of a verity that it is his own living self. 
''But that is not your friend,"' my Seventh Day Adventist 
brother presumes to tell me. Then who is it pray? "It is the 
Devil !" The Devil it is ! God pity us for our ignorance ! 



What a dull, leaden thought is involved in the sad refrain, 
"It might have been." Ah, friends, there are fierce torments, 
raging hells untold, in spirit life — conditions which one would 
gladly exchange for annihilation, and from which there is no 
escape except by honest repentance and earnest endeavor. 
There is no one in the universe upon whose shoulders one can 
shift the burden of his own sins. 



WORRYING GOD WITH ADVICE. 
WORRYING GOO WITH ABVICE. 



We are tired of that kind of religion that is perpetually 
worrying God with advice and coaxing him for favors. How 
often have we heard some wealthy and devout but stingy 
Christian, with his cribs full of corn, praying God to "remember 
the poor," when the thought of remembering them himself was 
the last thing that would ever enter his mind. And then again, 
how some people are perpetually worrying about the sins of 
their neighbors, while their own paths are beset with duties 
undone. The main and first question with each child of 
humanity is to bring himself into harmony with the true life, 
and not undertake to manage the entire universe, at least not 
until he has had more experience. He will generally have all 
he can attend to to manage himself, if he does the work wisely. 

# * 

A grave mistake, which even Spiritualists are slow to 
recognize, is the fact that spirits are by no means infallible, but 
are wise and otherwise, just like mortals. They may have 
opportunities for knowing many things that mortals do not ; in 
act they may possess, as doubtless many of them do, wisdom 
vastly superior to our own, and yet they are only fallible, with 
all a finite being's tendency to err. How often have we heard 
spirits questioned in matters that only a being of infinite 
intelligence could answer, and the questioner would be surprised 
to learn that his spirit friends were only human after all. 

How the vain and perishable things of this life — wealthy 
position, fame — all dwindle into utter insignificance as compared 
with the unfading treasures of the immortal spirit. We brought 
nothing into this world but a little pink lump of clay ; that 
which we take out is of no more value than dust. All that we 
are, and all that we can possess forevermore must be of the 
spirit. How are we off for that? is a question we should 
consider just now. 



Il6 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

With what marvelous precision and wisdom is the machin- 
ery of the universe managed and run ! In the mighty sweep 
around the sun of the most distant planet of our solar system, 
extending through years of our time, each revolution is the 
same in duration as every other revolution, though centuries 
apart, even to the fraction of a second. The same is true of 
all suns and systems, for all are sweeping onward in vast cir- 
cles, all held and governed by the same unchanging law. In 
view of such inconceivable grandeur, well may the Psalmist 
exclaim, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him !" 

How our cold-blooded competitive system of labor, with 
each man on a perpetual tension of ingenuity to out-trade and 
circumvent his neighbor, hardens our poor human nature, and 
dries up its springs of charity and humanity. Is it any wonder 
that men become indifferent to the needs of the suffering poor? 
Is it not, indeed, a seeming necessity, at least, that they should 
come to regard selfishness as a sort of negative virtue? It 
takes a high order of spiritual unfoldment to enable one to rise 
superior to environment, and to be noble and grand notwith- 
standing the besetting errors of our earthly conditions. 

* -*■ 
Alas ! how often is the cup of hope dashed from the 

spirit's lips, and we awaken to the dull, cold reality that our 
dream of joy is over. The fond anticipation of happy days to 
come — days of delight in plans and projects that give a roseate 
tinge to life, and make its cares and duties all the less irksome 
— is swept away as with a breath, and we take up the old bur- 
den and journey on, and on, till the sunset shall kiss our eye- 
lids to sleep — the last sleep. 

# ' * 
Peace, like a mighty river, flows through the soul of him 
who has learned to think no ill. It is then he becomes one 
with the All Good, and is ready to mount, as on eagles' wings, 
to the infinite heights of being. 



o 



SPIRITUAL SIMPLETONS. I I 7 

SPIRITUAL SIMPLETONS. 



" The manly art ! " That is what they call it when two 
thick-headed, beatle browed bruisers batter each other's faces 
out of all semblance of humanity ! They do not seem to 
realize, in thus placing themselves on a level with a beast, that 
-a sway-backed, wind-broken mule can strike a harder blow 
with its heels than they, its human emulators, can with their 
fists ! Business men, with respectable associations — with lov- 
ing wives and innocent children — patronize the clubs where 
these disgusting exhibitions are held, and pious editors publish 
the sickening details, thus lending their influence to fostering 
and upholding human beastliness ! O, ye spiritual simpletons, 
is it thus that ye would become god-like? Or, prefer ye to 
demonstrate in your own natures, the truthfulness of that des- 
pairing saying of Job that "Man hath no pre-eminence over 
the beast ? " 

How little we know of life and its possibilities — how little 
of the here or hereafter. We realize that we have come from 
an infinite past, and are moving on toward an infinite future ; 
but wherefore ? The countless millions of human beings who 
Tiave lived their little day and passed on — for what purpose, or 
what uses in the economy of creation, who can imagine ? We 
•can only know that we are, God only can know the rest. 

The world is wide enough for all. If you can not agree 
•with your neighbor, and he will not go hence, you had better 
place a comfortable distance between you and him. You can 
not afford to have your peace of mind continually disturbed 
from any cause within your power to remedy. 

Who would not rather leave the world with a tender mem- 
ory in some grateful heart, and the thought of some life made 
happier by his living, than, without such memory or thought, to 
wear a costly monument above his worthless ashes ? 



Il8 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

AN ELEMENT MISSING. 



How very little of the spirit of Christ there is in the 
churches of to-day. There are millions of dollars worth of 
church edifices in any of our great cities, and yet crime, and 
drunkenness, and poverty abound, seemingly, as never before. 
In most of them the worshiping of Christ is made paramount 
to love for humanity. The Roman Catholic saloon keeper 
spends the hour devoted to religious service on Sunday, in 
counting his beads, and stupid adoration of the Host, and then 
hurries back to his whisky-selling ! The Protestant Christian- 
takes all manner of advantage in trade throughout the week, 
driving hard bargains with the poor, selling fourteen ounces of 
butter for a pound, and the like, and then eases his conscience 
by listening to an unctuous sermon on Sunday by a ten thous- 
and dollar preacher ! And all the while there are poor women 
making shirts for ten cents a day, and homes all around where 
squalor, and rags, and ignorance abound. The money invest- 
ed in the churches of San Francisco alone, if properly applied 
to some practical plan of co-operative labor, would give to every 
poor man and woman in the State a home and the means of a 
decent livelihood. And yet we would not do away with the 
churches until we are prepared to put something better in their 
place. The people had better be taught to give for a lesser 
good than to give nothing for a higher good. 

Evil thoughts poison the blood, and thus invite all manner 
of physical ailments. The anger of the mother will 'Sometimes 
throw her nursing babe into spasms. So closely is the body in 
sympathy with the soul that whatever disturbs the harmony of 
the latter also deranges the secretions of the body— breaks 
down its defenses, as it were, and opens its gate to the enemy. 

He who seeks for the best in his own life has no time to- 
spare to search for the evil in other lives. 



THE YEARS WEAR ON. 119 

THE YEARS WEAK ON. 



The years wear on, and to the wiser, life, in its highest 
significance, broadens as we near the goal of its earthly expres- 
sion. We begin to realize, with the great bard, "What a 
wonderful thing is man." A spark from the Infinite sent out 
from the great source of life, to glow and blazon through space 
forever? Here but a day, then comes the morrow! And it is 
how to make that morrow brightest and happiest that we 
should devote to-day. Here comes in the beautiful teachings 
of Spiritualism. It can only be by making the best use of 
ourselves and our opportunities here. We need not expect to 
wear a frown to-day with the hope that it will turn into a smile 
to-morrow. Fill this life with sunshine and the next will catch 
its glow. And how can we fill it so completely full of sunshine 
as by doing good to others? The tears we wipe from the eyes 
of suffering and sorrow will, in the coming time, blossom into 
peerless gems for our own brows. The burdens we help to lift 
from the shoulders of the struggling ones of earth, the cares we 
help to lighten, the griefs we assuage, the kindness we bestow, 
will all return to us in the shape of unfading joys in the beauti- 
ful hereafter. All this they tell us who have passed on to the 
other life. Shall we not believe them, and put into practice 
their holy teachings? 



Is there anything in the Universe more beautiful than a 
beautiful soul ? To have the companionship and friendship of 
such a soul — of a man or woman who has purged away the 
dross of his or her earthly nature by the refining fires of ex- 
perience, and ascended the upper levels of life — is to walk 
arm and arm with God. Ah, there are many noble natures 
we know, who are our ideals of manly or womanly worth, who 
are as true to principle and duty as the magnet is to the pole. 
We are proud of their friendship, proud to realize that they 
have confidence in us, as we in them. 



120 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

VIRTUE OF GIVING. 



It isn't the amount one gives to a worthy cause that does 
one's spirit so much good as the sacrifice one makes in giving 
it. The young lady who, on experiencing a severe case of re- 
ligion, gave her ear-rings to her unconverted sister, was enti- 
tled to no credit therefor. There was not the slightest virtue 
in the gift. Neither is there virtue in any gift of what one can 
dispense with without sacrifice. The gifts that exalt one are 
those like the "widow's mite" that go down into the soul, and 
mean some unselfish deprivation of enjoyment. That in the 
widow's case meant something more then that, it meant de- 
privation of comfort, if not of the actual necessaries of life. We 
should all learn that to be generous in giving in a good cause, is 
the true way to "lay up treasures in heaven." 



"I do not know," says the scientist, "of any future life — 
at least, of no individualized, conscious existence for man after 
death." Therefore, why should we ask for proof of continued 
existence from that source? Shall we ask of science what it has 
not to give? Better seek for the evidence from some one who 
knows. 

Give to woman the ballot, and how long do you suppose 
it would be before that hydra-headed monster, the rum traffic, 
would receive its quietus ? There are none who feel the terri" 
ble curse so keenly as the wives and mothers of the land. 
Spiritualists should stand solid in favor of temperance reform, 
and thereby set a worthy example to political Christians. 

* * 

It costs nothing to be civil. One can say "no," in so 

gentle and pleasing a way as to make a lasting friend of the one 
whose request is thus denied. While, on the other hand, a 
favor grudgingly rendered, will win no esteem from the recipient 
for the one who bestows it. 



THE SPREAD OE TRUTH. 
THE SPREAD OF TRUTH 



One has but to make inquiry among one's acquaintances 
to learn how very widely and generally the belief in spiritual 
manifestations is spreading and taking root in the world. 
Many do not care for it to be known, others do not accept all 
the facts ; but the fact that the great truth is spreading, espec- 
ially among thoughtful minds, at a rapid rate, can not be refut- 
ed. Our modern literature is full of Spiritualism ; orthodox 
ministers of the gospel, — those whose backs are not covered 
with theological moss, — do not hesitate to preach its central 
truths. It is interpenetrating, in some form or other, all en- 
lightened thought. And while thousands of believers in these 
truths would rebel at the idea of being called Spiritualists, yet 
they are such all the same, and they do not know it. May 
the blessed truth run and be glorified among men. May it 
help the world to broader and better views of religion, and to 
a better quality of humanity — as it surely will, as it enters 
more and more into the spirit as well as into the understand- 
ing of men. 

-#-*-•■ 

Some men, who are genial and affable in public, are the 
worst of tyrants in their own families. They seem to save all 
their meanness for their homes. They always have a kind 
word and a pleasant smile for their neighbor's wife, while for 
their own they have only sullen looks and unkind speech. 
Such men need a baptism of the Holy Ghost, and they need a 
hot one ! 

Is there a depth of woe more profound than that which 
overshadows the heart of the mother bending over the form of 
her dying babe ? The little pale face, the fluttering pulse, the 
short, quick breath — "Doctor, O, is there no hope? Could 
the mother only see, as some can, the beautiful spirit form stand- 
ing by her side, ready to receive to her loving arms the spirit 



122 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

of that precious babe — could she but realize that in the spirit 
world her heart's treasure will be trained in every perfect way 
of life, and grow up into all grace and beauty, with no loving 
tie sundered — would not that knowledge be to her a boon 
above all price? This is the balm Spiritualism brings to the 
stricken heart. 

How little the multitude realize the responsibilities of life. 
They live for the present hour, and its selfish enjoyments. 
They buy and sell, and seek to circumvent each other in trade, 
as though true happiness was to be found in securing some- 
thing of earthly riches or fame to themselves that their fellows 
do not possess. And just when they have secured their prize 
Death tears it from their grasp and sends them out into a 
world where wealth and worldly honors count for naught. 

How often we sing at our seances and in our public meet- 
ings the dear old words, " Nearer, my God to Thee — nearer to 
Thee." Would that all Spiritualists could sing these words in 
the spirit and with the understanding also. That is, that all 
could feel as they sing that they are drawing nearer and nearer 
to the Great Central Good of the universe — to the divine life 
of the soul. It is only thus we can derive from this earth ex- 
perience its highest and truest meaning. 

* 

No man can lose his temper without injury to his own 
spiritual nature, to say nothing of the harm and wrong he may 
do to others. The horse that becomes frightened and runs 
away is never quite as safe or trustworthy afterwards. There 
are occasions, do you say, when you cannot help becoming 
angry? Those are just the occasions when you most need to 
hold yourself under control, and which best show the metal of 
which you are made. It is only the spiritual weakling that flies 
into a passion for trivial causes ; the moral hero is he who can 
hold himself level under great provocation. 



THE COMING CENTURY. I 23 

THE COMING CENTURY. 






What mind can grasp the wonderful possibilities of the com- 
ing century? Is it not possible that Bellamy's speculative 
literary creation, "Looking Backward," will be more than 
Tealized by the year 2000? Scan the achievements of the past 
century — its marvelous inventions and unfoldments in all 
•directions of art, science and ethics, — its spiritual revelations — 
its idol-breaking and myth-destroying processes — its new revel- 
ations of truth — its disenthralment of the mind from old 
■superstitions, — and who shall say to what heights of knowledge 
the world may not advance during the coming century. To the 
prophetic soul, it is evident that enlightened man is stand- 
ing upon the threshold of the chamber of knowledge, within 
whose secret recesses are wonders that eclipse conception with 
their mighty meanings. The lightning express train of progress 
is sweeping onward. It is bearing us away from the old and out 
into the new. Unwise are they who wait for the slow freight. 

The power of thought! Who can realize its potency? 
We are not only subject to the psychological power of thought 
•of others, but we psychologize ourselves into wrong ways of 
thinking, until we come in time to reconcile ourselves to the 
commission of wrongful acts. Pope never uttered a truer 
sentiment than when he said : 

"Vice is a monster of such hideous mien 

That to be hated needs but to be seen ; 

But seen too oft, familiar with her face, 

We first endure, then pity, then embrace." 

* 

A thoroughly good, intelligent, high-minded, spiritual 
woman, what is there in the universe below the rank of arch- 
angel that can compare with her ? How the aura of her pres- 
ence makes everybody who comes within its influence better 
and happier ! Such a woman never grows old. She is always 
young, and fair, and beautiful, and becomes more so with the 



124 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

years, until at last she steps across the border, an angel of 
light and love forevermore. 



A SUNNY SOUL. 



One of the happiest and sunniest souls we ever knew is; 
that of a dear old lady now nearing the border land of time, 
whose last dollar, with the kind help of others, was spent to 
secure a stopping place in one of those loveless and barren 
shelters, known as an "Old Ladies' Home." This lady is a 
great reader, a devout Spiritualist, and not an unfrequent visitor 
to our Free Reading Room. A few years ago her only son 
and support in her old age was killed in a railroad accident. 
Coupled with this is a personal affliction of absolute deafness. 
Most women, and all men, in such sore straits, would sit down 
in the everlasting dumps. Not so, our heroine. Misfortune 
and poverty seem but to have brightened her spirit. She radi- 
ates sunshine and happiness all around her. She lives close 
to the heart of Infinite Love. She knows that there is no 
death, and is looking forward with rapturous delight to the 
time when she shall cast aside the form and step forth a white- 
robed angel into the new and higher life. As a model of pa- 
tient, gentle and abiding trust in the All Good we thank her 

for this fragment. 

-»♦ ♦» — 

REMEDY FOK CRIME. 



When we come to learn that crime is the result of ignor- 
ance and undeveloped spiritual conditions, we shall cease to 
punish the criminal for his offenses against society, but rather 
seek his reformation by kind and humane methods, and by 
appealing to the better side of his nature. Our prisons will 
then become schools of reform, and the criminal tendency be 
treated as a moral disease. The wrong-doer will be restrained 
of his liberty just as we restrain the insane, for his own good, 
as well as for the protection of society. And when the moral 



BELIEF VS. KNOWLEDGE. 125 

health of the prisoner is restored, he will be permitted to go 
hence without reproach. There was a time when our ances- 
tors had but little respect for the rights of their fellows. The 
strongest and shrewdest anthropoid robbed his weaker brother 
without the slightest compunction of conscience. The reason all 
do not do so now is because some are more advanced spiritu- 
ally than others. 

BELIEF VS. KNOWLEDGE. 



Belief without knowledge, is nothing but a thread of gos- 
samer — an idle fancy — a something, nothing. The world has 
been cursed with too much belief and too little knowledge. 
Belief belongs to the childhood of the race. It is full of a 
child's fancies. It takes all shapes, and makes real all manner 
of grotesque things. But the time comes when knowledge re- 
legates belief to its proper place among the shadows. The re- 
ligions of the past have been mainly religions of belief, un- 
founded in the constitution of man. The Christian world, for 
centuries, has believed in a conglomeration of absurdities un- 
worthy the intellect of a child. In what a nightmare of the 
brain must have been conceived the idea of a lost world, and 
in fact, the whole orthodox plan of man's creation and redemp- 
tion. To imagine an Omnipotent Being creating a Devil with 
pow r er to frustrate his plans and undo the work he had done, 
and the necessity of killing a part of himself (which part was 
his entire self !) in order to prevent the Devil from getting pos- 
session of all the souls of the Father's creation — can the fruit- 
ful fancy of childhood excel in absurdity this idea ? And yet 
from thrice ten thousand pulpits throughout the civilized world 
is this amazing fable taught. In the light, or darkness rather, 
of such teachings, did Modern Spiritualism dawn upon the 
world any too soon? 

The light is breaking upon the hill tops — the light of a 
new day. The hideous phantoms of the night of a false the- 



126 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS* 

ology that has stood throughout all the ages, as a fearful spec- 
tre by the bedside of the race — is melting away into an un- 
pleasant memory, before the advancing effulgence of the com- 
ing day. We are just beginning to learn that Good, and not 
Evil, dominates the universe — that Omnipotent Law is man's 
best friend. How hard has been the struggle with the shapes 
of wrong, with the childish imperfections of our undeveloped 
spiritual and moral natures, to attain this end. But the race 
is won at last, thank the good angels, and humanity is steadily 
moving forward to vastly mightier ends and purposes. 



SPIRITUALISM MADE PRACTICAL. 



We believe in making Spiritualism a practical means for 
the betterment of the race, and that by methods of its own. 
Shall we have our theories of life and duty, and then indiffer 
ently permit other theories to dominate the world ? Shall we 
have no schools of our own, no public charities, no schemes of 
-co-operative labor, or finance, or trade ? Shall we spend the 
day in open-eyed wonderment of the " manifestations of the 
spirit," until the night cometh on and finds us with our tasks 
all unperformed ? Spiritualism is no longer a mere question 
of phenomena. It has outgrown its baby clothes. The sensi- 
ble world concedes that it is not all a trick — that there is some 
good reason for the belief of its millions of votaries. It is 
high time that we did something more than talk — that we 
garnered our sheaves, and reaped the reward of the harvest. 
What can we — what should we of the Pacific Coast do ? We 
can erect a temple in San Francisco, with lecture halls, a col- 
lege of psychical research, a publishing house, etc., for the 
dissemination of our truths. To do less than this is to blazon 
our .weakness and indifference to the world. Come, friends — 
ye who have learned there is no death — let us wake up to a 
realization that we owe a duty to our Cause. 



OUR THANKSGIVING. 1 27 

OUR THANKSGIVING. 



The appointing by the State of a day of general thanks- 
giving, (formerly of fasting and prayer), to the Supreme Ruler 
of the Universe, for the blessings of health and prosperity as a 
people, in compliance with a religious custom, is looked upon 
with much disfavor by atheistic persons. Like the institution 
of Sunday, such persons are not compelled to observe Thanks- 
giving day, any more than they are our other legalized holidays, 
— or even the exclusively holy days recognized by the Church. 
But surely there is no one, however deficient in the organ of vener- 
ation, who can seriously object to a recognition of the day as a 
day of rest and recreation, for the enjoyment of such social 
festivities as that to which it is now generally devoted. And 
surely all should be magnanimous enough^ in the enjoyment of 
their own freedom, to permit, without cavil, those who may so 
prefer, to devote the day to fasting and prayer. If any should 
choose to clothe themselves in sackcloth and ashes, in token of 
their humiliation of spirit, on that day, for the crimes and 
wrongs committed in the name of liberty, they ought to be 
permitted to do so, and no one should say them nay, or ques- 
tion their right in the matter. 



But there is a spiritual side to this question, which should 
commend it to the consideration of all who are seeking for the 
higher life : and that is the importance of developing a spirit 
of thankfulness as essential to true growth. " Thankful for 
what?" do we hear some one ask? Thankfulness for everything 
— thankfulness that we were not overlooked in the construction 
of the universe — that we live, and will live forever. Again 
our questioner: "Is a future life desirable at the price many of 
"us are compelled to pay for it in this life — of poverty, sickness, 
"misfortune, etc.?" What are the brief moments of mortal 
existence, compared to an existence of infinite duration, and 
the advantage of infinite growth in all the higher capacities of 



128 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

the soul? Of what stuff can any one be made that he should 
be unwilling to take the chances of a few earthly ills and dis- 
comforts for an unfoldment of spiritual powers and possibilities 
that eclipse conception in their mighty reach? 



Some of our atheist friends seem so apprehensive that 
they may be betrayed into doing something that may squint at 
the recognition of an Infinite, Overruling Intelligence, that 
they will hardly allow themselves to be properly appreciative of 
the real joys and blessings of life, lest such appreciation might 
be construed to the disadvantage of their materialistic claims. 
The unhappiness of all such persons should forever stand 
as a warning to the more spiritually inclined to shun the rocks 
of pessimism upon which their life barks have been wrecked. 
He must be spiritually blind indeed, who cannot see a Divine 
purpose in human life, and in the varied and marvelous forms 
of matter with which we are surrounded, and of which we are, 
physically, a part. 



How can we know what is best for us — the discipline, mould- 
ing and annealing, that may be necessary to adjust us to our 
proper place in the mechanism of the universe. The pain we 
suffer ; the tears that are wrung from our very hearts at times 
— are all, for aught we know, Nature's processes for forging us 
into shape and harmony with the Eternal Plan. At any rate, 
isn't it better for us to accept them as such, than to rebel, like 
truant school-boys, from the discipline necessary to hold us to 
our tasks? If we accept our sorrows and sufferings in a spirit 
of thankfulness we rob them of half their hurt. 



But there is so much of good in the world to be thankful 
for — so much of beauty and joy — so much to gladden the soul 
and thrill it with a sense of true thankfulness, that it would 
seem that we would hardly need to be reminded thereof by the 
setting apart of any one day in the year as a fitting time to give 



WHAT CAN I DO? I 29 

expression to our thanks. We should be thankful every day; 
our lives should be a benison of thankfulness perpetually to 
that Infinite Mystery of spirit that has given us eyes to enjoy 
the beautiful pictures of nature — its grandeur of mountain and 
ocean ; ears to drink in the melody of sounds ; and other 
faculties for sensing the delights of being. For the pleasures 
of friendship, for the gentle hearts that love us, for the sweet 
intercourse of soul with soul, for the uplifting hands reaching 
down to us from the bending skies, for the bright hope of a life 
of happy usefulness beyond the gates of death, and for the 
infinite possibilities opening out before us. let us give thanks. 

Aye, indeed ! What though your lot may be cast in 
poverty, and many misfortunes and ills attend you even al 
through your earthly pilgrimage ; are ye not journeying towards 
home — to the better land? See ye not "the light in the 
window " to some of those " many mansions " that shall yet be 
your abode in the land of souls? Take heart of hope, ye 
sorrowing ones. With eyes fixed upon the shimmering summit 
of the Mount Delectable, take up your staff and scrip and jour- 
ney on. And so we will all give thanks. 



WHAT CAN T I>1>?" 



"What can I do for a living? r we think we hear some 
one say, some one who is passively waiting and waiting for 
something to "turn up." Well, let us see, what are you good 
for? Workers are needed everywhere and in all departments of 
life; now what can you do? Have you a trade or profession? 
No? That's bad ; but there is much work to be done that does 
not require any great amount of skill— nothing more than 
patient application and good practical sense. With a good 
stock of the latter, and a reasonable amount of energy to push 
it to the front, no man or woman need long remain idle. But 
a great mistake of the unemployed is that they can sit down 



130 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

idly, like young robins in the nest, and expect the fat morsel to 
drop into their open mouths without any effort of their own. 
It is better for a poor man to earn his board merely, than to eat 
the food of charity in idleness. All labor, if worthy, is honor- 
able, and no man or woman should hesitate to accept any 
respectable employment, the best that can be had, of course, 
rather than be a' burden upon his friends, or the charity of the 
world. 

" Heaven is not reached by a single bound ; 

We must build the ladder by which we rise, 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 

And we mount to the summit round by round/' 

Thus wrote that grand spiritual soul, James G. Holland. 
How true it is, and how suggestive of the necessity of steady, 
persistent effort to overcome the imperfections of our natures, 
and enable us to attain to those graces and glories of being 
that make us fit for the enjoyment of the pure spiritual delights 
of the higher life. The appetites and practices that drag one 
down to earth must be overcome, and the wisdom principle, 
sanctified by love, enthroned in the citadel of the soul. What 
a work is this, O Mortal, the All-Father has set you to perform ? 
And how important that you perform it well, that you may re- 
ceive the welcome plaudit of the God within, "Well done, 
good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of the life 
divine." 



LEVEL HEADS. 



The world wants level heads in religion as well as in the 
business affairs of life. Fanaticism and bigotry are as much 
out of place in the one as in the other. It wants a religion of 
honesty in trade, and gentleness of conduct in all the relations 
of life. It wants a religion that will "sit down" on all manner 
of gossip and scandal, and make the good name of a brother 
or sister as sacred in their absence as in their presence. It 



"IF I WERE ONLY RICH." I 31 

wants a religion of generous impulses and good will; one that 
will not hesitate to do a kind act to an enemy ; one that will 
never betray a friend ! It wants a religion of cleanliness, 
inside and out — a religion of health, and pure air, and whole- 
some dress and diet. It wants a religion of sunshine and good 
cheer — a religion of love, in its broadest, holiest and purest 
sense. In short, it wants a religion of common sense. With 
a good supply of this kind of religion on hand no one need 
borrow trouble of the future, and lay awake nights mourning 
over his sins. 



IF I WEKE ONLY RICH.' 



"O, if I were only rich !" sighs an over-burdened soul at 
our elbow — over-burdened with poor health and physical in- 
ability to struggle with the great competitive world, where the 
strongest come off victorious, and the weakest go to the walk 
Have you counted the cost of riches, dear lady — the care, 
anxiety, and above all, their crystalizing influence upon all the 
finer qualities of the spirit? Why, there are rich men and 
women in this great world, whose hearts are as barren of gener- 
ous impulses, and whose lives are as empty of noble purpose, 
as though they had been made of brass. Would you ex- 
change your own warm, generous nature, though humble and 
empty it may be of this world's wealth, for the possibility of 
becoming like one of these ? But we know it is not riches 
your heart pines for, so much as for a reasonable competence. 
How to be happy without even a competence, is the spiritual 
problem you should seek to solve. And one may be very 
happy in poverty if one only knows how. We read of one of 
old who "had not where to lay his head," yet he could teach 
us all lessons of contentment and true happiness. 

Some people seem to take a sort of delight in being mis- 
erable. They will hide themselves away in the shadows when 



I32 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

the sun shines brightly all around, inviting them to bask in its 
delicious, health-inspiring beams. Their pains and aches, 
their griefs and sorrows, they roll as it were " a sweet morsel 
under the tongue " — live them over and over again, as though 
they were memories to be cherished. Now, the true way of 
life is to put the unpleasant things of this world under foot — -to 
forget them. When once a trouble is over, let it go, and think 
110 more about it forever. Think only of the heights you have 
climbed, and others to be attained, and not of the thorny way 
you have passed, and must pass to reach them. 

It is a law of the universe that God helps him who helps 
himself, and just in proportion as he helps himself. The effort 
that one makes in the direction of the accomplishment of any 
worthy purpose calls moral forces to his aid that he little 
dreams of to fight his battles for him. Man is not left to 
make his way through life alone. He is, if his purposes are 
Avorthy, surrounded by a mighty cohort of invisible friends, 
who stand ready at his beck to further his interests. But he 
must not sit down in indifference, trusting to these aids to do 
his work for him. They come only at the call of his own per- 
sistent efforts ; they yoke themselves with his own determined 
thought, and clear the way of all obstacles to his success. 

It is the height of folly to quarrel with Nature or find fault 
with her laws. To do so indicates a low order of spiritual un- 
foldment ; besides, Nature takes not the slightest notice of 
your complaints, but marches straight forward in her undeviat- 
ing course forever. Whoever stands in the way of her laws 
must suffer the consequences. There is no sentiment in the 
cyclone. It hurls to destruction the Christian mother, and the 
babe crooning in her arms, with no more compunction, or 
scruples, than it would the meanest of her creations. But 
then what if it does ! Who knows that the mother or babe 
has received the slightest injury? 



HOW DOES HE KNOW? I 33 

HOW DOES HE KNOW ? 



It is a favorite expression of a dear old friend of ours, 
that " man is pushed into the world without his knowledge or 
<{ consent, that he is pushed through it and out of it, and he 
" cannot help himself.'' He will excuse our inquisitiveness. 
when we ask him how he knows that he did not come here 
entirely with his own knowledge and consent, and for the pur- 
pose of obtaining the experience that this life affords. If man 
is a spark from the Infinite Life — a fraction of God — he cer- 
tainly must have possessed a previous intelligent existence of 
some kind ; and if so, he must have known something of the 
purpose and object he had in view in embodying himself in 
matter. How does our friend knoiv that he did not push him- 
self into the world? Concerning things whereof we do not 
know, it is not wise to be too positive. 

HIGHEST IDEAL. 



"He that ruleth his own spirit is better than he that tak- 
eth a city." That is, it is of more consequence to a man, a 
truer indication of worth and greatness, that he be able to rule 
himself wisely, than that he rank high in the world as a ruler 
of others. This is a rarer test of true excellence, than, at first 
thought, one might suppose. How is it with you, dear reader ? 
Are all the appetites, passions and weaknesses of your nature 
dominated by an enlightened will? Have you the animal 
man "well in hand," with a taut rein, and are you sure of 
your ability to "hold him level," in the great race of life? 
Can you withstand temptations ? Are you living up to your 
highest ideals of right and duty ? If you are, then pray for us 
that we may be like unto you. 



"One world at a time," says the Materialist. That is 
good advice, provided one makes the right use of the "one 
world" he now lives in. But the trouble with most people who 



134 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

give no thought to a future life, Or to another world, is, that 
their spirits become so incrusted with material things, and so- 
oblivious to things spiritual, that when they enter upon the 
other life they are as illy fitted for its duties and responsibilities 
as babes. If one was going to a new country to reside it would 
certainly be a great advantage to him to know what was neces- 
sary to take with him to secure the best conditions and highest 
enjoyments of the place. 

r^i m *m ■ 

EMPTINESS OE RICHES. 



How empty and vain must seem all the pomp and cir- 
cumstance of life — stocks, bonds and bank accounts, houses, 
and lands — to the man with the death rattle in his throat. A 
passenger upon a sinking ship, cast aside his belt, weighted, 
with gold, preparatory to committing himself to the waves. 
His neighbor picked it up and buckled it around his own 
waist. One sank beneath the waves, the other floated upon 
the surface, and was rescued. Men who know better, sink in- 
to the grave daily, weighted down with that which will encum- 
ber their spirits perhaps for ages, and bind them down to the 
earth plane. Live, if you will, O ye favored ones of earth, in, 
the enjoyment of your wealth while ye may, but for your own. 
soul's sake, and for God's sake, do some good with it when. 

you die. 

«» ♦ ♦> ■ 

We bring nothing into the world but the germs of body 
and spirit ; we take nothing out but spirit. The body hav- 
ing done its work is resolved into its original elements. But 
what of the spirit ? In this is centered the fruition of our 
years — of our experiences — of our joys and sorrows — of our 
good or bad thoughts and deeds — all of which may be summed 
up in one word, " character." This, and this only, we carry 
with us to the other life. Put this question to yourself, dear 
reader, "Stripped of everything else but character, what have- 
I to commence business with in the other life ? "' 



THE STILL SMALL VOICE. 1 35 

THE STILE SMALL VOICE. 



The higher we ascend the scale of being, in our spiritual 
natures, the more susceptible do we become to the thought 
atmosphere all around us, and to the spiritual forces and cur- 
rents ever descending to the children of earth from the shining 
ones of the higher life. No one can err who listens to the 
"still small voice " of the spirit within his own soul and follows 
its teachings. The trouble with most of us is that we either 
stop our ears and refuse to listen, or, hearing, refuse to obey. 
No mortal yet ever earnestly and sincerely sought for the path 
who did not find it, sooner or later. Help comes to him from 
sources he little imagined, clearing away the thick underbrush 
of doubt and uncertainty, and leading him forth into the light. 
All roads lead to happiness ; but some are much longer than 
others. All travelers through the valley of shadows will get 
there, sometime. 



ONLY FOR THE FEW. 



As yet spiritual truth is only for the few. The multitude 
are not yet ready for it. Step by step and little by little the 
sunlight of the new dispensation breaks upon the world. The 
new convert to the stupendous facts of spirit existence and 
communion, is apt to be enthusiastic. He is naturally anxious 
that his friends should be brought face to face with such facts 
and phenomena as have convinced him of the central truths 
of Spiritualism. The result, in many instances, has been dis- 
astrous to the medium and of no benefit to the investigator. 
It is not the conviction of a great truth that men like Prof. 
Huxley seek for in their investigation of spirit mediumship, 
but to prove to their own satisfaction that there is no truth in 
it, an that what they do not know about nature's ways isn't 
worth knowing ! The truth comes only to those who are 
ready and willing to receive it. 



136 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

OUR GOOD OLD MOTHER. 



How soft and beautiful on this glad Sunday morning (the 
hour we give to these fragments), the sunlight gilds the green 
hills and fertile plains with its golden glory. The air is soft 
and balmy as the breath of love, and the sky, with its gentle 
wings, seems to brood the earth with infinite tenderness. 
What an impartial friend is our good old Mother Nature. She 
has the same smile for the just as the unjust: Her soft air 
kisses the feverish brow of the misguided one just the same 
as it does the roseate cheek of innocence. She never scolds, or 
complains, or condemns ; but is ever inviting her children into the 
better ways of life. See ye not, O mortal, the loving hands 
down-reaching from the bending skies, to draw you closer to 
the heart of Infinite Love? Heed ye not the "line upon line 
and precept upon precept" of her many teachings? She does 
not tell you that by any vicarious process you can escape 
the consequences of your sins, but she would have you live 
the true life, that your spirit may be clear from the scars of 
sin. Who can not draw from earth, air and sky, on such a 
glorious morning as this, an inspiration prompting to a better 
and higher life. 

ACQUISITIVENESS. 



The acquisitive faculty in human nature, though not the 
highest faculty, nevertheless has its uses in the world's unfold- 
ment. It is through this that the Infinite Spirit works to 
mighty ends. The rich man whose heart has not been cor- 
rupted by his riches — and there are many such — becomes a 
vast storehouse of golden opportunities for the uplifting of hu- 
manity. It is through such means that universities are found- 
ed, great libraries established, and noble charities upheld. It 
is also by the aggregation and disbursement of the world's sur- 
plus wealth that mighty enterprises for the advancement of civ- 
ilization are founded and fostered — railroads spanning conti- 



A WEAK CHARGE. 1 37 

nents; lines of steamships crossing every sea. Not ours to 
condemn the acquisition of wealth, except when perverted to 
ignoble uses. The pressure of modern thought in the direc- 
tion of the brotherhood of man, and the common needs of an 
undeveloped humanity, is telling in this as in all other human 
affairs. The time is coming when a man will be ashamed to 
die possessed of great riches. 

+ Q+ 

A WEAK CHARGE. 



One of the weakest charges ever made against Spiritualism 
by the Christian world is that it is not respectable. True, it 
has no elegant churches, with softly cushioned pews, inviting 
the worshiper to dreamy devotion. It is wanting in most of 
the appliances of ecclesiasticism, — in theological seminaries, 
in orders of divinity, in conferences, and general synods. But 
then, in its earlier history, Christianity was entirely devoid of 
such things. It wasn't even respectable ! Jesus himself was 
looked upon by the Jews as a vagabond sort of a character, who 
fellowshiped publicans and sinners, and made himself very 
obnoxious to the prevailing respectability of his day. And so 
w r e ought not to shrink from the charge, but we should meet it 
by showing that we have a higher standard of respectability 
than that which judges a man by outward appearances. If a 
belief in Spiritualism brings comfort to the sorrowing wife or 
mother in the hour of her despair, when death has sealed the lips 
of her idol, — as we know it does, we will not trouble ourselves 
about its lack of respectability. 



Like rain to the parched and thirsty earth are the crystal 
drops of spiritual truth to the soul whose inner consciousness 
has been awakened to its divine origin and mission. In the 
light of its new day it mounts as on eagle wings to the upper 
air, where serene splendor and undiminished glory environ it 
forever more. 



I38 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

THEOSOPHY. 



"We want you to come up a little higher," said a good 
Theosophist friend to us the other day. Ah, but, we replied, 
there is such a thing as getting above and beyond the reach 
of the great pleading, plodding heart of humanity. There are 
all grades in life's great school. The primary is the basis of 
all education, all culture. We cannot ignore that. We print 
and preach for the many — not alone for the few. Already 
some complain that they cannot comprehend the teachings 
and claims of our Theosophical correspondents. We spread a 
table of choice viands, — of " milk for babes," and stronger 
food for the older grown — of " signs and wonders" for those 
who require it, of fragments of philosophy for speculative 
minds, of grains of golden wisdom for the highly unfolded. 
Reach forth, dear reader, and help yourself. Select that best 
suited to your taste, and don't complain. You cannot convert 
a skeptic to the truths of Spiritualism without first demonstrat- 
ing the fact of spirit existence. But once converted, we would 
lead him onward and upward into the higher and brighter 
realms of our beautiful philosophy. 



Down from the bending skies, out from the infinite ener- 
gies of space, around and about us everywhere, helping hands 
and friendly influences are ever reaching to guide us in the 
better way of life. It is when our intuitions are dull to these 
influences, and our ears deaf to the gentle pleadings of the 
spirit, that we lose our way amid the fogs and brambles of un- 
worthy things, and our footsteps are beguiled toward many a 
dangerous pitfall. 



* 
* * 



Spiritualists who denounce others for believing in phases 
of spiritual phenomena with which they themselves are not fa- 
miliar, have no right to complain of skeptics who deride their 
claim to the possession of spiritual facts which are not the 
common property of humanity. 



OUR FUNERAL CUSTOMS. 139 

OUR FUNERAL CUSTOMS. 



Day after day the funeral cortege moves slowly toward 
the city of the dead. There are the same sable trappings of 
woe, the same funeral aspect of the pall-bearers, the same 
solemn visaged neighbors and friends. And thus we lay away 
our dead — the young and the aged — the tender blades and the 
ripened ears. And then we erect monuments to their memories, 
which, a century hence, will be regarded by the living as a 
precious waste of marble. Why seek thus to perpetuate the 
memory of the mortal body, which, a few years hence will be 
but a handful of dust? Nothing lives but the spirit, and naught 
in the memory of that should be perpetuated save its generous 
promptings to noble deeds. The most elegant monument is 
seldom for the most worthy, but rather for the one whose mortal 
representatives possess the longest purse. After all, are not 
our funeral customs the outgrowth of paganism, the same as 
that which filled the rocky cliffs that border the valley of the 
Nile with mummies, and for the same object — the possible 
ressurrection of the mortal body to a renewed life? As we bring 
ourselves more and more into the life of the spirit, the less 
regard will we have for the preservation of the decaying mass from 
whence the vital spark has flown ; but rather shall we not hasten 
its restoration, by refining fires, to the elements whence it was 
taken ? 



Who can account for the infidelity of those who call 
themselves Christians, concerning the demonstrations of a 
future life through the phenomena of Spiritualism? One 
would naturally think they would be glad to prove what they 
can only hope for. They not only deny, but will even ridicule 
facts occurring to-day, the counterpart of which occurring in 
ancient times, whereof their Scriptures abound, they place im- 
plicit confidence in. Who can explain the strange inconsist- 
ency? 



I40 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

WHAT OJF IT ? 



Well, what of it ? What if some one has wronged you — 
has abused your confidence — has borne false witness against 
you — has robbed you of your earthly possessions ? Can you 
not realize that the perpetrator of these unjust deeds has 
wronged himself far more than he has you ? All that there is 
of the real you is the soul that expresses itself through your 
physical organism ; and that is beyond the reach of harm. It 
is helmeted and casemated in an impregnable fortress of divin- 
ity, where it can " smile at the drawn dagger and defy its 
point." Whoever lays siege to this fortress beats his breast 
against the Rock of Ages, and can harm or w T ound no one but 
himself. The injury your enemy may do you can only affect 
you in outward and transitory things, never in the interior and 
real self — if you so will it. 

WON'T COMPLAIN. 



Don't complain of your lot in life ; you are not nearly as 
poorly off as you think you are, however deficient of this world's 
goods you may be. The real treasures of earth and heaven are 
all yours, if you want them. Love and honor are yours ; so also 
are the beautiful stars, the bright sunshine, the golden glory of 
the evening sky, the breath of the rose, the song of the birds, 
and the laughter of children. Can you look into the eyes of 
the woman who loves you — your heart's idol — or the face of 
the babe crooning and crowing on your knee, and say that you 
are not among the favored ones of earth ? Accept your lot and 
be glad. A few days hence the beggar and the king shall lie 
down together. What will be their relation to each other "over 
there ?" 

" Once upon a time " there was a rich man who fared 
sumptuously and riotously. He had many mistresses, and 
openly boasted of his shame. In this direction there was no 



THE THANKFUL WORM. 



4J 



depth of dishonor he had not reached. At last he sickened 
and died, long before his allotted years. He passed on to 
spirit life, leaving all his millions, with the exception of a beg- 
garly trifle, with instructions to spend the last dollar, if neces- 
sary, to defend him in his infamy. Oh, the long years of re- 
tribution ! the agony and humility of spirit ! the deep and bit- 
ter remorse ! that must come to that erring spirit before it can 
mount the celestial hights. 

THE THANKFUL WORM. 



We know a man worth many millions of dollars, whose 
boast it is that he never gave a dollar to any charitable purpose 
in all his life. The time will come when in all God's universe 
there will be no spirit in such great need of charity as he. He 
is now nearing the border line that separates him from the 
world of eternal verities. A few years hence, and the only 
living thing to thank him for a square meal will be the worm 
that banquets on his body. But his spirit, O pitying heavens f 
in what darkness must it grope for ages ! How strange it is that 
any man can be found who will take no heed of the future by 
glorifying the present. Here we must do our work and now, 
for this is the only moment we can call our own. 

How little the world, or even the average Spiritualist, un- 
derstands the requisite conditions for good spirit manifesta- 
tions. A member of an eastern band organized to raid ma- 
terializing mediums, who claims to be a Spiritualist, although 
a disbeliever in spirit materialization, writes us that he, with 
others, has offered $1,000 to any materializing medium who 
will submit to such conditions as he and his band may direct ; 
and, with no one present but themselves, produce a separate 
and distinct form ! Why not take a Swiss watch-maker, turn 
him loose with a sledge hammer in a pig iron factory, and in- 
sist that he shall make a fine chronometer in five minutes ! 



142 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

The wise man climbs to the higher levels of life by his 
mistakes. He who falls and rises again thereby gives evidence 
that he possesses the metal of true manhood. Why should we 
continue to condemn one who has recovered his missteps? 
Jesus did not condemn, but simply admonished the fallen one 
to "go and sin no more." There are too many people in the 
world puffed up with the pharisaical idea that they are better 
than their neighbors, and that their superior goodness is due to 
some superior excellence of their own. It will be as humili- 
ating to their pride, as it was to that of their illustrious self- 
righteous prototypes, when the Master shall say unto them, 
•" Let him that is without sin cast the first stone." 

" Did he leave anything?" That is the inquiry the world 
often makes concerning one who has passed on to spirit life. 
It is the question which oftentimes most interests surviving 
kindred. But the question which most concerns the departed 
is, " Did he take anything with him ? " Some there are who, 
dying, leave everything. They are to be pitied. Those who 
leave most, in a worldly sense, are usually those who take the 
least along with them. It all depends upon the nature of our 
opportunities, and the use we make of them. 

There is a wide difference between the mere acceptance of 
the phenomenal facts of Spiritualism and the adaptation of 
one's physical and spiritual nature to the higher teachings of its 
beautiful philosophy. There are many who never get beyond 
the first or phenominal stage ; they have become convinced of 
the truth of spirit return, and there they remain. The lessons 
of charity, temperance, benevolence, brotherly love, purity of 
life and conduct, etc., that come from the spirit world, make 
but little impression upon their lives. This is not the fault of 
the fact, but of the nature that lacks the disposition to adjust 
itself to the fact. 



DOES PROHIBITION PROHIBIT? I 4 j 

DOES PROHIBITION PROHIBIT? 



"Does prohibition prohibit?" is one of the mooted ques- 
tions that come uppermost in all communities where the tem- 
perance agitation has obtained a foothold. We should natur- 
ally answer that prohibition does prohibit. If it does not, then 
it is not prohibition. We would that we could always give the 
same affirmative answer to that other question, Does Spiritual- 
ism spiritualize ? The fact that in very many instances a be- 
lief in the facts and philosophy of Spiritualism does not spirit- 
ualize to any considerable extent, is evident from the wrang- 
ling and inharmony so common among Spiritualists, or those 
who call themselves such. With the beautiful teachings of 
bright and enlightened spirits constantly before them, Spiritual- 
ists ought really to be the most kind hearted, charitable and 
forgiving people in the world. While we are glad to know 
that some of them are thus, yet many, to our humiliation, be 
it spoken, are not. We would that all possessed more of the 
Christ spirit. 



We have no time to waste in unprofitable bickerings, or 
useless explanations. We should ever strive to live in a 
realm of thought currents that lead only to the All Good. 
Though clouds and shadows hover over the valleys, the sun 
shines bright and clear at the mountain top. Thither our 
pathway leads, and the angels of the bending skies ever invite 
us upward. 



* 
* * 



The worm is no respecter of persons, neither is it partic- 
ularly aesthetic in its tastes. The cheek of innocent maiden- 
hood furnishes no daintier morsel than the hardened sinews 
of age. All is corruption, when once the spirit steps forth dis- 
enthralled. There is nothing permanent in matter — all is 
change and decay. The spirit only shall live forever — in light 
or darkness, as we will. 



H4 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS, 

The theology of the past, that robbed life of all its sun- 
shine, and filled the world with sadness and tears, is giving 
way, in the light of the Spiritual Philosophy, to a brighter and 
more cheerful outlook upon existence. The good Father, surely, 
does not want his children to go "mourning all their days." 
He cannot wish that they should be willing to be damned for 
His glory, but rather that they should endeavor to gather into 
their lives all the grandeur and beauty of creation. For what 
has He clad the earth with verdure, and surrounded it with the 
breath of His love, but to lead the children of His creation 
into ways of pleasantness. If we make this life full of joy 
there will be no room for sorrow here, or hereafter. 

It may be asked, if none but initiates, or experienced 
investigators in the higher physical manifestations of psychic 
phenomena are to be admitted to seances for the development 
of the psychic form, how is any one to be convinced of the 
truth thereof? Conviction will come with spiritual unfoldment, 
and experience in the less startling phases of the phenomena. 
The seeker after psychical knowledge should not be too eager 
to grasp all truth at once. He should at least learn his alphabet 
before endeavoring to branch out in logic or the higher mathe- 
matics. It is well to study the philosophy of the spirit rap, 
or the nature of the trance, before endeavoring to take in the 
psychic form. 

•* * 

After all that may be said or written upon the subject of 
psychic phenomena — accounts of wonderful individual experi- 
ences, etc., — every one must settle the matter for himself. No 
revelation to A can quite satisfy B, however much confidence 
the latter may have in the honesty or powers of discernment of 
the former. He must know for himself. The mind is so con- 
stituted that it cannot accept the evidence of others in aught 
that relates to the seemingly incredible. 



DISCIPLINE OF EVIL. 145 

DISCIPLINE OF EVIL. 



How many events and circumstances in this world which 
we look upon at the time of their occurence as serious evils — 
sickness, the loss of loved ones, business reverses, etc., — do 
we not come in time to regard as blessings in disguise ? From 
this fact may we not reasonaby conclude that all seeming evils 
and misfortunes that come to us are wisely intended for our 
good ; in other words, that behind and through all evil there 
shines and permeates the rays of a Divine Good ? Man needs 
the discipline of temptation and misfortune more than he can 
know. He needs the lash of the results of his own follies, 
often, to teach him wisdom. What kind of limp and nerve- 
less clods we should be without the hard experiences this life 
affords. Let us then accept the cup, though bitter it be. We 
shall be all the better for it some time. 



Evil disappears from the undeveloped human nature just 
in proportion as the good predominates therein. Then the true 
way to uplift humanity is not by fighting the evil, but by 
encouraging and developing the good. No man was ever made 
better by abuse, or unkindness of any kind, and none was ever 
made to see the error of his way by ridicule. When, O when, 
ye would-be educators and reformers of the race, will ye learn 
this fact ! 

* * 

The higher phenomenal phases of Spiritualism should be 
reserved exclusively for the initiate — that is, for those whose 
perception of truth has been so far unfolded as to enable them 
to discern "the things of the spirit." The pyschic form is 
not for those who can not accept it. In fact, the presence of 
one inharmonious person in a seance room, unless largely 
counterbalanced by harmonious elements, will cause a vibra- 
tion, or disturbance of the nice conditions essential to good re- 
sults, and perhaps prevent the manifestations altogether. 



I46 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

There is no more independent class of thinkers in exist- 
ence than Spiritualists. To some, it makes no sort of differ- 
ence what others claim to know, they will argue with the know- 
ing ones as persistently as will the skeptic against what they 
themselves claim to know, to convince the former that they 
are mistaken. For instance, some one claims to have had 
positive evidence of a certain phase of psychic phenomena 
with which some one else is not familiar. Straightway the 
latter denies that any such phenomena could possibly occur, 
wholly forgetting that his own claims to knowledge upon other 
phases of the same class of phenomena appear just as unreason- 
able to the skeptic. And so we go ! 

It is utterly useless to thrust our facts or philosophy upon 
persons not ready to receive them. The fallow ground of the 
heart must be ready to receive the seed before there can be 
any prospect of fruition. "But,'' you may ask, "would you 
hide your light under a bushel? " By no means. There are 
hearts everywhere hungry for the truth. All such are ready to 
be fed. " Feed my lambs" said Jesus. He did not say, " Go 
catch my goats and force them to eat of the bread of life." 
" Ask, and ye shall receive. " There must first come the con- 
dition of mind that prompts one to ask, then will he receive. 

-x- 

Can the man who doles out to his wife, with reprimands 
for her extravagance, a moity of what is her just due as an equal 
partner in the firm, or of what he spends for his own personal 
gratification, have anyone but himself to blame when his chil- 
dren grow up to be thieves — made so by the pre-natal impulse 
of the mother to help herself to a little needed change from her 
husband's pockets, while he is asleep? The child born in an 
atmosphere of just, generous, and loving thoughts, starts out 
with a heaven in this life accomplished, and not with a hell to 
overcome. 



NATURES WORKS. I 47 

NATURE'S WORKS. 



How exquisite in design are all of Nature's works I 
None of them are too insignificant for the display of infinite 
skill and wisdom in their construction. In all her marvellous 
methods and varieties she slights nothing, leaves nothing 
unfinished or incomplete in this life, save and except 
man himself, and she will make a perfect job of him before 
she is through with him. She weaves into the butterfly's wing 
the azure and the gold of her sunsets, and she paints the lily 
and the rose with the glory of her blushing dawns. And then 
how nicely she adapts means to ends. The mole blindly bur- 
rowing beneath the sod, the sea bird skimming the mighty 
wastes of ocean, the cricket drumming its love notes at the 
hush of day — all are cared for as fondly and tenderly as the mother 
cares for her babe. What a field for study — what suggestions of 
Masterly Purpose in the plan of the universe ! How can man 
grovel in lowly thoughts and things, in a world of such match- 
less splendor and possibilities as this ! 



There is a nameless force that goes out at times with 
human utterance, that gives to the spoken word a per- 
suasive power never dreamed of at other times and under 
other conditions. This subtle force may be regarded as the 
" sword of the spirit." It is not always so much what one 
says that touches the heart and the understanding, but how it 
is said, and the spirit force that goes with it. This is well 
illustrated in the senseless exhortations formerly indulged in at 
old style* religious revival meetings, urging' sinners to the 
"mourners' seat." 

* * 

The Spiritualist who earnestly and industriously sets him- 
self at the task of developing his own spiritual powers, and 
thereby bringing the spirit world into his own life, has begun 
to learn what true Spiritualism means. 



1^8 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

No criminal was ever made better by punishment, and no 
wrong-doer by abuse. We can benefit the erring only by 
strengthening their moral natures — by building them up in 
good purposes, and calling them out on the higher planes of 
their being. This can be accomplished only as a labor of 
love. Whoever seeks to drive men into better w r ays of life 
has his labor for his pains ; not only that, he hardens his own 
nature, filling his spirit with all unkindness and bitterness. 

* 

* * 

"I don't know," is the language of honest doubt; "I knowyou 
don'*t know," that of intolerant bigotry. Why can't we respect each 
other in all matters of opinion, even remembering that what 
none of us know is to the sum of our absolute knowledge, as 
the big, blazing sun to the mote basking in its rays. Let us 
delight to differ, and love each other in our differences. If we 
all thought precisely alike, life would be too flat and insipid 

for healthy growth. 

* 

Someone has wisely said : 'The danger of riches increas- 
es with their increase. Abundance serves not as water to 
"quench, but as fuel to augment the fire of covetousness." And 
so the acquisitive man comes in time to think that the more 
he has, the more he needs ; and this thought is apt to cling to 
him long after he has accumulated vastly more than he can 
wisely use for his own needs, even down to the last hour of 
mortal existence. But is it the best thought to carry into the 
other life ? 

* * 

"The light on the path," is the light that shines down into 
one's own spirit from the source of all light, and radiates out- 
ward to illumine other souls, and mark the way that they should 
go. Who walks by this light, can not stumble or go astray. It 
will guide him safely to his Father's house, "where the many 
mansions be." 



THE LEAVEN WORKING 1 49 

THE LEAVEN WORKING. 



We apprehend the time is not distant when the funda- 
mental truths of Spiritualism will be generally accepted by the 
churches— when the evidences of spirit existence and return 
will be as familiar to church members and to Christian preach- 
ers, even, as they now are to thousands outside the pale of the 
'Church. Then the churches will be compelled to remodel 
their creeds to fit the higher order of truth, as presented from 
the spirit world, or else to drop out of existence altogether. 
Already the leaven of this new- and brighter gospel is working, 
-even to the rendering and tearing assunder of all old notions 
*and ideas whose claim to veneration depends mainly upon their 
antiquity. Evangelical Christianity is nothing like as tyrannical 
•or intolerant as it was a quarter of a century ago ; at least, its hold 
-upon the public conscience is nothing like as binding. Even 
the Church of Rome, that not long ago placed its foot upon 
the necks of kings, and gave its adherents the choice of absolute 
obedience or the stake, can not now coerce one poor priest, 
who, like Father McGlynn, chooses to defy its power. 



Happiness is a condition of the spirit — a something that 
belongs within, — and is dependent only to a very limited ex- 
tent, if at all, upon externals. Martyrs have gone to the stake 
with their souls aflame with gladness, while kings, with the 
plentitude of earth at their command, have moped in melan- 
choly misery. There is more solid comfort in an ounce of 
-contentment, than in all the wealth of the Rothschilds. The 
riappiness that is dependent upon wealth, can last only while 
the wealth lasts. There will come a time when the check 
•of the millionaire will not purchase the handles to his coffin. 
Then what ? 

When you wake up, dear reader, in the morning of that 
new day, to a consciousness that you have crossed the river 



15O SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

of death, and that all of your earth life, with its accomplished 
good or ill, is behind you forevermore, what condition of the 
spirit do you imagine will then afford you the largest meas- 
ure of satisfaction ? Will it be, do you think, the realization' 
of the good you might have done to your fellow beings, but 
did not? How empty and vain will then appear the "pomp 
and circumstance" of earth, the bauble of wealth — the tinsel 
and sham of fashion, and the mockery of fame ! Only the 
pure gold of character will be current "over there." 



No man should boast of his superior powers of body or 
intellect. Neither his strength nor his greatness may be due to- 
any virtue of his own. His very superiority should teach him 
modesty, and make him graciously careful not to wound the- 
feelings of his inferiors. We should accept our lot and be 
thankful, ever seeking to make the best possible use of all our 
God-o;iven faculties. 



* 



If the man who imagines that he has a "call" to make- 
light of the honest opinions and convictions of others, or to set 
himself up in judgment of the faults and failings of others, 
could only see himself as he is seen by the wise ones on the 
other side of life, he would blush with humility and shame at 
his own vaunting temerity. "Physician, heal thyself," is an 
old adage that all who start out to correct the faults of others- 
should ever consider. A noble example is the best teacher ! 

Wealth builds its palaces as though its tenants would 
occupy them forever. It shuts itself in from the great world of 
humanity, of which, in the order of nature, it is a part, and to 
which it owes its very existence. And for what, and for how 
long ? An empty shadow and a day. Death laughs at all human' 
distinction. The worm finds no daintier food in the king than 
in the beggar. There is no monopoly of sweetness in corruptions 



PASSING ON. T51 

PASSING ON. 



Ten years ago we knew a sweet young girl, beautiful, 
gentle and graceful, just launching out on the sea of married 
life. The home of her parents and our own joined, and we 
had seen her almost daily from infancy. She was the idol of 
her home, and a great favorite among all her acquaintances. At 
her marriage she moved to a distant town, and we henceforth 
heard of her only occasionally. Children came to her, — one, 
two, three, four, — and the bearing of these, with other of life's 
vicissitudes, wrought sad havoc with her health. A few days 
ago we stood by the bedside of a pale, delicate little woman, 
rapidly fading away. She stood on the very verge of the river's 
brink, conscious that only a few days more of mortal existence 
remained for her. We could hardly realize that the bright, 
young girl of ten years ago and the fragile woman before us 
were one and the same person. We talked to her of the beau- 
tiful spirit world just before her, and assured her that death was 
only a gentle sleep from which her spirit, removed from the 
poor sick body, would awaken with rapturous delight, in the 
arms of a loving father, who had passed on before her, and 
w T hose spirit we both felt to be present. Ah ! what a comfort is 
the knowledge of the glorious truths of Spiritualism to those who 

are nearing the great change. 

+ n -t- 

One whose desire is ever for the highest good in his own 

life — w r hose aspirations are ever upreaching — never has to rely 

wholly upon his own powers. He will be met half way by 

some down-reaching spirit from the higher spheres to aid him 

onw r ard and upward. There are always those ready to respond 

to the spirit's needs, when earnestly sought for. 

* * 

There is but little difference between the teachings and 
practices of the early Christians and the teachings and practi- 
ces of modern Spiritualism. The former taught a gospel of 



152 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

love to God and good will to man. The latter teach the lov- 
ing fellowship of all humanity, believing that in the practice of 
that virtue they can render to their Creator the highest possi- 
ble service. The former healed the sick by the laying on of 
hands. Wherein does the treatment of the sick in these days 
by animal or spirit magnetism differ from that of Christ and 
his disciples? "Greater things shall ye do," said the Master ; 
and surely the time is rapidly coming when these "greater 
things " shall appear — if they have not already. 



"If you could see the dark aura that envelops some per- 
sons," says a faithful spirit worker in our own home, "you would 
feel like fleeing from their presence." It is well we can not see, 
for then we might shrink from the performance of duties where 
they were most needed. Spirits see and feel this aura, and are 
attracted toward, or repelled by mortals in proportion as their 
own spiritual natures are pure or impure, or correspond with 
those into whose atmosphere they come. 

* * 

The exercise of brotherly love, charity for all, and good 
will towards the most undeveloped fellow-spirit, is the only 
means of subduing the baser promptings of one's own nature. 
Unkindness, jealousy, envy, selfishness, and unjust suspicion, 
constitute the deadly nightshade of the heart, which, if allowed 
to live and grow, will so poison the springs of happiness in one's 
own soul that all of its future will be saddened thereby. Over- 
come these evils, O brother, and refresh thy soul with the 
beautiful sunlight of Divine Goodness. 

The fraud or dishonesty that injures only its perpetrator 
is far less to be deplored than the thought or act that seeks 
another's injury. While the first should never be condoned, 
the latter cannot be too earnestly condemned. He who would 
commit either needs the uplifting light of truth in his soul. 



COMFORT OF .SPIRIT COMMUNION. 153 

COMFORT OF SPIRIT COMMUNION. 



No one can appreciate the value and comfort of spirit 
communion so well as the man or woman whose spiritual 
eyes have been opened to the light, and who can see and 
know for themselves. Who would close the doors of the 
heart to the wise and loving teacher and friend from the spirit 
side of life, who can make his presence known in the home 
circle, and who comes to inspire, to heal, to encourage, and in 
every helpful way to assist each member of that home in bear- 
ing the burdens of life ? There is many a home in this great 
city, and throughout the land, that is blessed with such a faith- 
ful companion and guide. The shining ones are ever knock- 
ing at the doors of mortal hearts, but as yet there are but few 
to bid them enter in, and they go away grieved. 

The great mistake of all churchmen, of whatever sect, is 
in imagining that they possess, in their religious systems, a 
monopoly of all spiritual truth. As though the revelation of 
spiritual truths to the world ceased with the advent of Jesus 
and that henceforth and forevermore, man must take his gospel 
knowledge at second hand. The discovery of this mistake, 
and the adjustment of multitudes of the race to the new order 
of things, is what disturbs the little souls of an effete ecclesi- 
asticism, and causes the "heathen to rage "against Spiritualism 



"Words, idle words!" are all discussions with those who, 
not wishing the truth for themselves, seek to convince you of 
your error ! We have no time to waste with such. It is not the 
skeptic who does not care to be convinced, but the heart athirst 
for the living waters of Spiritualism, that we care to botherwith. 






Life is barren or fruitful just in proportion as it is made 
a help and blessing to others. No one can live wholly to him- 
self without dwarfing his own nature. 



154 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

It is the disposition of writers for the spiritualistic press 
to be forever criticising each other's opinions, that keeps our 
cause in such a constant state of ferment. What is a writer's 
opinion upon any subject but simply his or her own opinion ? 
— nothing more. No one is bound to accept it, and no one is 
specially called to refute it. If A wants to believe in re- 
embodiment, or the doctrine of Karma, and B in the evolu- 
tionary theory of creation, or the divinity of Christ, why make 
a fuss about it, and question their honesty or sanity ? The 
main thing with every Spiritualist is to be sure of the sound- 
ness of his own opinion. He will then borrow less trouble 
concerning those of his neighbor. 

If we would come into full possession of the truth — enjoy to 
our best the beautiful teachings of Spiritualism — we must 
place ourselves in a proper spiritual attitude. By aspiration, 
by the practice of generous deeds, and by the exercise of that 
God-given grace of all graces, charity, we can attune our lives 
to the divine harmony, and prepare our souls to enjoy the an- 
gelic melody and harmony that come of a well ordered life. 

* 

Love is the nimbus of the spirit, the white light in which 
every flower of virtue and goodness unfolds and exhales its 
sweetest fragrance. The clairvoyant can discern this light 
and therein read the character of those within whose atmos- 
phere they may come. Spiritualists should seek to develop 
this light in their own spirits. It is not a difficult task to 
whoever earnestly seeks for it. It comes with the exercise of 
kind thoughts and the practice of generous deeds. 

He who would start out on the search for evil should 
first turn his lantern fairly upon himself. After he has ex- 
hausted the subject in that direction, he will be apt to have 
no heart for pursuing the search further. 



HOW LITTLE WE KNOW. 155 

HOW LITTLE WE KNOW. 



How very little we know of ourselves, or of the universe 
•of matter and spirit around us. We are in the midst of an 
-eternity of mysterious forces and laws, of which we can scarce- 
ly know the alphabet. Our very littleness and insignificance 
should make us humble and teachable. We cannot explain 
the marvellous force that holds us to this planet, rolling as it 
does, forever through the mighty voids of space. We cannot 
tell why we exist, or why we love or hate. We know not 
whence we came, or whither we go. Only here and there do 
we catch a glimmer of light in the eternal dark that well nigh 
overwhelms us, Let us keep the eyes of our spirits open for 
the faintest ray, ever believing it will show us the way to safe 
anchorage in the haven of rest. 



What grand lessons of life and duty, what sublime princi- 
ple's of enriched manhood, of abiding trust, of upright and 
noble living, do we not hear continually from our spirit helpers 
and friends, through lips touched with their inspiration. Who 
lives up to their teachings will live as close to the heart of God 
-as it is well possible to get. The fault is not in Spiritualism, but 
in ourselves, that Spiritualists are not always exactly what they 
should be. 

* * 

The infinite tenderness of a mother's love ! What is 
there in all God's universe of soul so beautiful and pure? And 
yet there are children who treat it so lightly and indifferently 
that they would prefer to follow the dark ways of life to their 
sad ending, than to be guided by its pure rays to a heaven of 
rest and happiness. Such is one of the strange mysteries of 
human nature. 

Until one's own nature becomes dominated by the spirit 
of love and good will for his fellow-beings — until he becomes 



156 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

thoroughly imbued with the Christ principle — he is unfit to> 
teach others in the better way of life. He may denounce the 
wrong-doer, and receive the plaudits of his kind therefor, but 
he only hardens the former in his evil course, and does him- 
self a serious injury. 

"What shall the harvest be?" What shall it be, young 
man, with you, who are sowing the seeds of dissipation in the 
fruitful soil of your life? Will it be a harvest of tares, or of 
precious corn? In every life there comes a reckoning some- 
time ; it is the harvest time — the gathering in of the sheaves. 
What empty granaries of character we see on every hand — 
men and woman "going home" from their life labor, with no 
song of gladness upon their lips. They have sown to the wind ; 
they will now reap the whirlwind of everlasting regret. Let it 
not be said of you, O mortal, with the wealth of golden oppor- 
tunity in your possession. 

We are inclined to the opinion that if there was less liberty 
in this country, there would be much more honesty. Then the 
grocer would not sand his sugar, or sell his butter thirteen 
ounces for a pound. The coal dealer would hardly presume 
to sell eighteen hundred- weight of coal for a ton, and the merchant 
would at least approximate the truth, because he would be 
compelled to. It is hardly safe to entrust the average American 
citizen with the liberty he is permitted to enjoy in this country ; 
and yet we ought to give the "experiment" a fair trial before 
we concede the mistake. 

What matters it to the one who knows better — to him 
whose communion with the spirit world brings sweetest happi- 
ness and purest thoughts and aspirations — how much the 
skeptic may doubt, or the ignorant may ridicule ! He is 
anchored to a mighty truth that will hold him steadfast to duty 
in this life, and give him peace and happiness. 



SURER ROADS TO EMINENCE. 157 

SURER ROADS TO EMINENCE. 



Brainy young men do not take to the cloth now as they 
did forty years ago. They find surer roads to eminence in law 
or literature. Nearly all of our bright preachers now-a-days 
are past the meridian of life. Modern skepticism, enforced 
by enlightened science, is too great a stumbling block for a 
thinking young man to venture to overcome. He naturally 
drifts with the skeptics, and leaves the evangelical ministry to an 
inferior order of minds. The average theological student of 
to-day is not calculated to "set the world on fire." He must 
be dumb to the voice of Progress to imagine that the world will 
longer subscribe to the dogmas of the church, founded as most 
of them are on fables no more substantial than those of the 
Arabian Nights. 

A gentle, white-souled, loving woman — what is there in 
all the universe to compare with her, unless it be the very 
angels who walk the flower- decked ways of eternal glory. Her 
presence in the home of poverty and want, by the sick bed, in 
all the walks of life, is ever an inspiration and a benediction. 
She leaves a trail of light behind her, and fills the air with the 
aroma of heaven. As a wife, a mother, a friend, a comforter 
in sorrow, she is all perfect. She wears on her white brow the 
royal insignia of angelhood, "and of such is the kingdom of 
Heaven." 

Notwithstanding all the hindrances to the advancement of 
Spiritualism, it is, nevertheless, rapidly and steadily making its 
way to hearts hungering for the evidence of immortal life. It 
gives a silver lining to the cloud of sorrow that hovers over 
the living in the hour of their mortal bereavement. It dries 
their tears, and bids them to wait patiently the last change that 
shall open the gate to the heavenly mansions where their loved 
ones dwell. 



158 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

There is a wonderful spiritual force in the universe work- 
ing to the uplifting of the human race. Those only who place 
themselves in the current of this force, and come in rapport 
with the pulsating intelligence behind it, can realize to any ex- 
tent its mighty energy. Armed with this power, (which is 
something akin to the vril spoken of by Bulwer in his " Com- 
ing Race,") one man becomes a host in the struggle between 
right and wrong, or in the accomplishment of any worthy end. 
It is thus he becomes "one with God," which is always a 
majority, and always victorious. Reformers should strive for 
this power, if they would dominate the world and lift man to 
a higher plane. 

* * 

Shakespeare makes that strange puzzle, Hamlet, say to 
his bosom friend, Horatio : " Give me that man that is not 
"passion's slave and I will wear him in my heart's core, ay, in 
" my heart of heart, as I do thee." Indeed, what is there 
more grand in all the universe than a self-poised, clean-souled 
man — one that has complete mastery over himself — of his ap- 
petites, passions, and all hurtful habits — one who can look his 
fellow man square in the eye, and whose nature at all times 
bubbles over with generous impulses and kind thoughts. 
"Are there such men," do you ask? Aye, many ; and grand 
and noble women, too, whose goodness makes them but little 
less than angels. Indeed, they are angels. 

•X- 

* * 

It is said that to a person drowning all the events of his 
life pass in panoramic array before his vision — no sin that he 
has covered up, no wrong that he has ever done, is withheld, — 
and he sees himself just as he is, in the light of his quickened 
faculties. Such, no doubt, is the case with the risen spirit. In 
the clearer perceptions of the spirit, disentangled from the 
mortal body, he sees himself as he really is — is brought face to 
face with every wrong act of his life, with every unkind word 



PRAYER. 159 



he ever uttered, and is thus made to understand his responsi- 
bility therefor, and the course he must pursue to put himself in 
harmony with the law of progression, and undo the mischief 
he has wrought. 



+0+ 

PKA1EK. 



There is a sense of helplessness and weakness that comes 
over the soul, in times of great sorrow and desolation, that 
naturally prompts one to pray for comfort and strength to that 
Unknown Mystery we call God. And atheists and skeptics 
may say what they will, it is within the experience of millions 
of souls, that there comes, in answer to such prayers, earnestly 
offered in times of great depression, a rest and peace that the 
world knows not of. We do not care to theorize upon this 
fact, as to whether such rest and peace is the result of any 
changing purpose of Omnipotence ; or whether it follows from 
a changed attitude of mind which brings the suppliant into a 
truer harmony with the laws of his being ; or whether, still, it 
comes from the drawing nearer of gentle and loving spirits to 
minister to the distressed soul — the fact that through prayer 
the blessing comes is the main point of interest to the world. 
The man or woman who never honestly and earnestly prays 
misses some of the sweetest joys of life. 

Love is the panacea for all ills. It is more potent than 
gold, more binding than human law. In it lies the solution of 
all problems of right, and of justice, of man's relation to prop- 
erty and to his fellow men. It is the only ruler in the universe 
that can be safely trusted with absolute power. The greater 
and more perfect its dominion, the more will justice prevail 
among men. Then all hail, Omnipotent Love ! We will 
gladly bow our necks to thy yoke and worship at thy shrine, 
well knowing that thereby he who humbleth himself shall be 
exalted. 



l6o SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

THE DOWN GRADE. 



The down grade — how easy it is. How like the swift 
current leading to the fatal falls. It requires great moral 
courage to turn back when once entered upon ; but it must be 
retraced sometime — every step of the way. Did you never 
think of it, young man — you that are drifting into vicious ways 
— you, frequenter of the drinking saloon, and the haunts of 
her "whose feet take hold of death?" Young woman — you 
that prefer a life of indolent ease to humble, but virtuous toil ? 
The time will come when you will hear the call to turn back, 
and then, the steep ascent you must climb, the path beset with 
thorns that you must tread ! But it is your only way to the 
light — the higher life of the soul. How much easier to con- 
quer self in its first wandering from the path, and bring it into 
harmony with divine truth. O, erring ones, Infinite Compas- 
sion and Love ever brood over you, even in your wanderings. 

"Bear ye one another's burdens," was enjoined by the 
Great Teacher. Therein is found one of the sweetest lessons 
of life and duty. To go selfishly along through life, strong 
and empty-handed, while the poor wayfarer at your side is 
plodding along borne down with a heavy load of sorrow, or 
poverty, or sickness, is not the way to "call the blessing down " 
upon your own spirit. The way to bless others is first to radi- 
ate your own spirit with the light and warmth of a loving pur- 
pose, and then to let them feel the glow of your own soul. 
There is a joy that the selfish heart never knew, in helping the 
weary and faint-hearted along in the journey of life. 



* 



The excessive " smartness " manifested by some of our 
alleged scientists in their treatment of spirit phenomena is par- 
alleled only by their profound ignorance thereof. • Where is 
the enlightened Spiritualist who has not seen mere babes who 
could confound them in their wisdom? 



THINK OF IT. I 6 I 

THINK OF IT. 



The happiest time of a mother's life, hardworked and care- 
worn though she may be, is when her children are all at home 
from their tasks, and tucked away in their beds to sleep. It is 
then she feels that her little brood is under her wing, and that 
no danger can come to any. But by and by the children grow 
up and go out into the great world, some to fill a mother's 
heart with joy, and some, perhaps, with bitter tears. It is then 
anxiety comes to the mother's heart, and she realizes, as never 
before, the responsibility of motherhood. How noble and 
sublime the task of training into useful ways of life the children 
we bring into the world. Think of it, profane, smoking, 
intemperate, carousing fathers ! Think of it, frivolous, fashion- 
able, gossipping, street-gadding mothers ! The group of boys 
at the street corner, with cigarettes in their mouths, bravely 
exhaling the smoke through their noses, know ye not that they 
are your boys, and that they are taking their first lessons in 
vice? We shall next see them stoning Chinamen, and soon 
they will be found in the dives and saloons, from whence it is 
only a step to the lock-up, and one more to the grave. With 
what firmness of moral purpose should men and women assume 
the duties and responsibilities of parentage. 

LAW. 

This is a universe of law. Law stands personified at th 
helm of the great ship of Being. Nothing exists or transpires 
in contravention of law. All nature is subject to law — un 
changing, irrevocable law. Ascending from the plane of physi- 
cal nature, we enter the realm of spirit. Here, too, we fin d 
the same governing purpose, as unalterable as the will of God. 
We call it Law ; why not name it God, which indeed it is 
or else endow Law with the moral attributes of Deity, and as 
such enthrone it in our veneration? How little a thing is man 
that he should presume to consider himself capable of under- 



I 62 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

standing Who or What it is that guides all things to a definite 
purpose — that holds myriads of worlds suspended in the infin- 
ity of space, with systems of unvarying motion extending 
through periods of time too vast for human calculation — that 
encompasseth man, as it were, in the hollow of a mighty hand, 
where if not inflated with a sense of his own greatness, he will 
naturally and reverently bend low in humble adoration. 



OUR" PROPERTY. 



My friend owns a beautiful flower garden ; at least, he 
thinks he does ! He pays the taxes on it, and employs a gard- 
ener to care for it. He claims that privilege, and we shall not 
contest the claim. But are those flowers really any more his 
than they are ours, or yours, reader, if you please? His eyes 
can take in no more of their beauty than can ours. He can 
enjoy no more of their exquisite fragrance than can we. Is he 
not rather our steward in caring for our common property? So 
we might extend this idea of property rights until the humblest 
child of humanity becomes a very Croesus. Are not the air 
and the sunshine, the songs of the birds and the rippling of the 
brooks, the mighty expanse of ocean, the majesty and grandeur 
of the universe, the joy of friendship, the glory of life and love, 
— are not all these ours? What more, O mortal, would you 
have? 

THROUGH THE GATES OF IGNORANCE. 



If we would have good and true men and women we 
should raise them, as we do superior grades of fruit or animals, 
by scientific methods, dominated by the combined love and 
wisdom principles of our natures. We apply method to the 
improvement of all things in nature except man, and him we 
leave largely to blind chance — first to find his way here through 
the gates of ignorance, or misguided physical impulse, and 
next to grow up amidst the rank weeds of indifference. Is it 



LOVE NEVER DIES. 1 6 5. 

any wonder that California requires three great insane asylums, 
two state prisons, and any number of jails, hospitals, poor- 
houses, magdalen asylums, industrial and reform schools, ex- 
pensive judicial and penal systems, and an army of petty offi- 
cers, to lick into shape the miserable fruits of our ignorance 
and indifference? Shall we never learn wisdom from experi- 
ence? Shall we never learn that if we would save the world 
from sin we must quit raising sinners ? 



LOVE NEVER DIES. 



Love never dies ; it is a part of the universe — an attri- 
bute of the Infinite Soul. Hatred, ill-will, revenge, selfishness, 
these all belong to the undeveloped condition of the spirit, 
and must necessarily perish and pass away. Man must live on 
the earth as a mortal, or on or near it as a spirit, until he is 
purged of all evil propensities and passions, all unkindness 
and ill-will. He must learn the better way of life here, sooner 
or later, and he cannot learn too soon for his own happiness. 
Steeped in the errors of the mortal mind, he may think now 
he would be content to live forever on the lower level of his 
nature ; but the time will come when he will awaken to a 
knowledge of his true self, and then his misspent years and 
lost opportunities will rise up before him as stern monitors to 
point him the way of duty. There is no rest or peace in evil 
— no true happiness save in the consciousness of right and truth. 



Not to envy your neighbor the enjoyment of what you can 
not afford for yourself, nor to want what is beyond your reach, is the 
secret of true happiness in social life. It is the endeavor of 
the poor to ape the ways of the rich, or to outshine their 
neighbors, that has brought many an industrious mechanic and 
honest tradesman to bankruptcy and ruin. True enjoyment 
does not depend so much upon what one has as it does upon 
what he can do without. 



I 64 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

HARMONY. 



Harmony is the key note to success in business. Among 
partners in trade, or in work of any kind, there must not only 
be harmony but perfect confidence in each other. Where 
these elements are wanting rankling discord is sure soon to en- 
ter in ending in disruption of bonds, and often in the scatter- 
ing to the winds of great estates. Persons sensitive to psychic 
conditions are much more susceptible to inharmonies than 
others. They can feel the conditions upon entering a room 
where discord exists among the inmates, and it is often a source 
of pain to them. The musician whose instrument is out of 
tune disturbs the harmony of the entire band ; so one inhar- 
monious person in the family, or in the business copartnership, 
will disturb the serenity of all his associates. 



The fatalist may say that man is just what he is made to 
be, and cannot be otherwise — that whatever he does is the 
precise thing he is obliged to do, and he cannot help himself. 
We do not believe it. If true, why seek to improve his condi- 
tion ? Or why should he ever seek to overcome his evil im- 
pulses and bring himself into harmony with the higher law of 
his being? The fact that he can improve — that of his own 
will and volition he can mount to a higher stage of being, is a 
fact that links him to the highest, or All Good, in the Universe. 
We pity the man who imagines himself as possessing no ac- 
countability superior to that of the weather-vane that idly turns 
to tell which way the wind blows. He might as well have 
been born a senseless clod. 

# ' * 

"Let the good angels come in," — let them come into your 
hearts, and let them take up their abode in your homes. You 
have no idea how they will lighten your cares, and roll 
the stone away from the sepulchre of your hopes and joys. 
They will bring health and peace, and thrill all your being with 
the divine harmony of their own heavenly spheres. 



THERE COMES A TIME. 1 65 

THERE COMES A TIME. 



There comes a time in the life of every person when he 
must realize that his brief day of existence is drawing to a close 
— when the eye loses its lustre, the step its elasticity, and he 
must feel that he is nearing the inevitable change that comes to 
all. Have you reached that time, dear reader? If so, you 
must know that there is not much more of this earth life for 
you. You must know that the shadows you see in the distance 
are the mists that hang over the river, beyond which stretch 
away into infinity the "land of the leal" — the home of the 
immortal soul. Isn't it about time, — if you have not done so 
already, — that you began to put yourself in readiness for the 
long journey? You will need some things to take with you. 
What have you among your assets that you will want, or that 
will be of any use to you "over there?" Surely nothing of a 
.temporal character. That you must dispose of, or make proper 
use of, before you go, or it will weigh you down. Then what 
have you left that will be of real worth to you when you shall 
cross over and awaken to the new life on the other shore? Is 
not the subject worthy of your thought? And would it not be 
well for us all, occasionally, to close the doors of our souls to 
the world for a little while, take an account of stock, and see 
just where we stand? 



If every man could only realize how strong is the tie of sym- 
pathy between his own spirit and the spirits of those who are 
near and dear to him in the other life, and how pained they 
are at his misdeeds, how careful he would be not to wound 
.them by any sinful act. The thought that angel ministrants 
.are ever near to sympathize with us in our sorrows, and rejoice 
with us in our rational joys and successes, should be a strong 
safeguard against an evil life, and it no doubt is. Let us wel- 
come all good influences, and ever seek for the " communion 
of saints." 



1 66 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

Who would strike his colors at the demand of the enemy,, 
without a vigorous effort for their defense is no true soldier. 
The Spiritualist who should become disheartened because 
he has discovered a fraud in his cabinet, or because his relig- 
ious and skeptical neighbor "makes faces" at him over the 
back fence, and calls him ugly names, needs a rap across his- 
spiritual knuckles to brace him up to his duty. With the light 
and glory of the new gospel shining down upon us, why should 
any one falter. What is there in the possession of a positive 
knowledge of what the religious world believes and hopes to be 
true, to cause one to hide his head in shame, and "deny his. 
Savior?" 



POTENCY OF THOUGHT. 



How little we do know of the nature or potency of thought. 
We seem to live and move in an element of thought, that in- 
volves and surrounds us as does the air we breathe. In pro- 
portion as we are receptive to this thought element, are we 
able to take in and give expression to thought — not only the 
thoughts that one's own spirit may shape and give forth, but 
also the thoughts of other spirits higher in the intellectual scale 
than our own. All advanced writers and thinkers will admit 
that their own minds are the keys of the instrument through 
which the spirit produces its grand melodies, and that if they 
would give forth the sweetest harmonies they must live in clos- 
est sympathy with the divinity within their own souls. True 
inspiration comes of aspiration and passivity. 



Life is a hard journey to those, mainly, who make it so,, 
or whose ancestors have unwittingly made it so for them. The 
troubles that come to one in this life — the sickness and sorrow,, 
the privations and mishaps — are mostly the natural fruits of 
one's own ignorance, or the result of one's folly— which are often, 
one and the same. 



BEAUTY IN VARIETY. I 76 

BEAUTY IN VARIETY . 



It is well for the world that all men do not devote their 
lives to the pursuits of trade. For the truest good of all there 
must be dreamers. There must be poets, inventors, artists. 
There must be thinkers and teachers in all the ways and ab- 
stractions of life. There must be many men and women who 
have but little time to plan and think for themselves ; their 
thought is for the welfare of humanity — for the millions who 
do not think either for themselves or for others. What would 
wealth be without its adorments of art? What would the 
Avorld be without its noble army of philosophers, and dreamers, 
too, if you please ; for is not all speculative thought an impulse 
from the soul realm — the land of dreams ? It takes all kinds 
of thinkers and workers to make a world worth living in. 
Therefore should all recognize the fact, that each honest toiler, 
as well as he of great intellectual and executive powers, is es- 
sential to the symmetry of the social structure of which all are 
a part. The more numerous and better enlightened the work- 
ers, the more enduring the structure. 

If you are miserable, the way to cure yourself of your 
misery is to minister to the need of some one more miserable 
than yourself. By arousing in your own spirit an ardent sympathy 
for others' woes, you will find, ere you are aware of it, your 
own troubles all forgotten. There is no greater panacea for 
the ills of life than a lively interest in the welfare of your more 
unfortunate fellow-beings. 

-*■ * 
A home where love abounds is a place where angels, seen 
and unseen, delight to dwell. Who would lower the standard 
of purity of domestic life, or in any manner tarnish the bright 
escutcheon of home, does a deed that sends a pang of sorrow 
to the remotest heavens. One of the highest aims of Spirit- 
ualism should be to ennoble and beautify the homes of the 
people. 



I 68 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

CONSOLATION IN AFFLICTION. 



When trouble and misfortune come — when the realization 
of great losses sweep over the soul — when the infirmities of 
age settle down upon the worn-out form — what is there so com- 
forting as the fact of that spiritual knowledge that gives one 
the conscious assurance that his loved ones on the other side 
of life are tenderly near to sympathize with him in his troubles. 
How it bouys up the spirit, and gives to the stricken soul 
strength to bear the burden of life's ills to the end. He who 
has come to the knowledge of spirit communion, and learned 
to shape his life in harmony therewith, has truly found the 
"pearl of great price." For him there is no cloud so dense 
that he cannot see its silver lining — no grief so profound that 
he cannot catch a glimpse of the joy and happiness -beyond. 
Duty, however irksome or unpleasant, henceforth becomes to 
him a pathway strewn with flowers. He feels that there is a 
useful lesson in his sorrows, and that they are only for a little 
while at most. Where others would yield to despair, he would 
rise in the strength and panoply of a power that the world 
knows not of. He would rejoice and be glad in his afflictions, 
and, taking up his scrip and staff, would journey on with a 
light heart to the river's brink. 



The spirit world has its own ways for the spread of its 
golden truths among men. It bends near to earth, with its 
mighty hosts of angels, to lift the pall of gloom from the grave 
— something that the religious teachings of the centuries have 
not only been unable to accomplish, but which have actually 
added to the soul's burden the dismal darkness of a false and 
unnatural theology. The mighty ones who are moving upon 
this planet will brook no denial. The puny opposition of man 
is to them as nought. The light of truth is breaking in upon 
hosts of the children of earth, and will continue to increase, 
until the world is flooded with its divine rays. 



NIGHT OF HORRORS. 1 69 

NIGHT OF HORRORS. 



From what a night of horrors is not the world awakening — 
has not already awakened — as the result of the development of 
the art of printing ! Thought has burst the restraints of a tyran- 
nous theology, that so long held it captive and now radiates 
the lightning flashes of ideas, from the brightest spirits to the 
darkest, even unto the ends of the earth. The past is useful 
to us no more, only as a lesson of humiliation to curb our 
pride and circumscribe our vanity. The Great Captain of our 
Salvation, Universal, Mental and Spiritual Liberty, alligns 
humanity with face to the front, and then with the command, 
" Forward," takes up the march of human progress down the 
ages. It is well for him who knows how to keep step to the 
rhythm of humanity. 



DIVINE SYMPHONIES. 



If we would enter upon the higher spiritual delights of 
the other life, when the toils and troubles of this life are ended, 
we should bring our spirits into harmony with the divine sym- 
phonies of existence here. There is no break in Nature's 
plans. There is a perfect uniformity in her conditions for 
the happiness of the human spirit, in this world and the next, 
and in all the worlds. We cannot live angular, inharmonious 
and unhappy lives here, and expect to enter at once upon a con- 
dition of exalted happiness " over there." We are spirits now 
as much as we ever shall be — not as radiant and grand as we 
may reasonably hope to become, but in expression and quality 
just the same, differing only in degree. Our true work here is 
to sweeten this life by the practice of an everyday kind of 
goodness. This it is to draw near unto God. 

" Physician, heal thyself." Vice may abound in the land, 
bad laws may be enacted for the benefit of the few, legalized 
temptations to drunkenness and ruin may exist, in brief, society 



170 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

may be generally "out of joint," but do not think, O com- 
plainer, that you alone can bring harmony out of chaos. The 
job is too great. The first and main thing for you to look 
after is yourself. Are you living up to your highest conception 
of truth — to your best ideal of manhood? If not, your first 
work and duty is in your own spirit, — to bring yourself into har- 
mony with the divine in your own nature. Then will you be 
prepared to work for the world in a way that will accomplish 
the greatest amount of good. 

The more one chafes or rebels against his environment — 
as the wild bird beats its wings against the bars of its cage — 
the greater the pain and unhappiness he brings upon himself 
To wisely plan to improve one's condition, or seek to overcome 
unfavorable or inhospitable barriers to one's happiness, is quite 
another thing. "What can't be cured must be endured," is 
an old and homely adage. But before one consents to "en- 
dure" he should first be certain that a "Cure" is impossible, 
and when found that it is, then endurance, with the best pos- 
sible grace, becomes simply a virtue. 

* 

If the average, self-assumed custodian of other people's 
morals or manners, would find a wretch that needs scourging 
— one that should be "lashed naked through the world - ' for 
all manner of faults — let him look within. He who would 
keep all the weeds and briars out of his own garden has pre- 
cious little time to bother with those that encumber his neigh- 
bor's grounds. Besides, there is nothing in all the range of 
reformatory methods quite so potent as a good example. 

* * 

Let no one center his hopes of happiness wholly in the 
future. Heaven is more of a condition than a place. The 
soul that is unhappy here need not expect at once to find hap- 
piness "over there." It should carry to the other life enough 



A NECESSARY EVIL. I 7 I 

•of heaven to forecast its future. Why should we hide ourselves 
amid the shadows in a world where there is so much sunshine 
.as there is here. 



A NECESSARY EVIL. 



Selfishness of a certain kind, under the existing order of 
things, is a necessity of individual and public life. It is only 
in a condition of society where all are unselfish that the indi- 
vidual can afford to be like his neighbors. Should he allow 
himself to be singular in this respect, seeking his neighbors' 
welfare wholly at the expense of his own, he would soon have 
but little, except his character, that he could call his own. So 
it is with nations. To maintain themselves against the rapa- 
city and greed of the invader, they are compelled to appeal to that 
first law of nature, self-preservation — to hedge themselves within 
barriers of selfishness. But there is an ideal condition of so- 
ciety where no precaution of this kind would be necessary — 
where every individual could wisely devote his life to the wel- 
fare of his neighbor, and in so doing would secure the largest 
measure of happiness to himself. That is " the good time 
-coming." 

jo: 

ACTIVE USE. 



The faculties of the soul — benevolence, kindness, charity, 
— which are not kept in active use, will gradually lose their 
powers of expression ; while on the other hand those faculties or 
qualities which are kept most constantly employed, will become 
brighter and keener thereby. Men do not become entirely good, 
or thoroughly bad, in a day. If we live on a low plane, and 
.allow ourselves to think unworthy thoughts, or indulge our bod- 
ies in degrading appetites and passions, our natures will ex- 
pand in that direction, and that, too, at the expense of our 
higher selves. We can grow in the direction of the true and 
good, or we can grovel in the gutters and sewers of our 



172 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



natures, as we will. Why will man feed his spirit on husks, and 
clothe himself in moral rags and tatters, when he might live- 
like a prince ? 

jo J 



THE MAN WHO KNOWS. 



The man who knows is certainly a far more reliable person 
to obtain information from than the one who doesn't know, 
and doesn't care to know. Science represents the latter per- 
son in its relation to modern Spiritualism. It considers it 
beneath its dignity to investigate anything which it cannot weigh 
in its scales, or reduce in its crucibles; hence, it prefers to de- 
nounce the honest claims of modern Spiritualism as the tricks of 
jugglery, or the creations of a diseased imagination. It was thus in 
Columbus', Galileo's and Fulton's times ; themossback conserva- 
tism of those days was intensely disgusted to imagine that 
there could be grand facts of nature whereof they were as ig- 
norant as babes. In fact, there are babes whose manifesta- 
tions of psychic power could scatter their theories and skepti- 
cism to the winds. 

POWER OF THE SPIRIT. 



What do we know about the potency of the human spirit 
— its power over disease, its inherent divinity? If the Hindu 
adept may, by an effort of the will, compel matter to move 
through space — may even overcome the law of gravitation, by 
the exercise of a higher law, and hold himself suspended above 
the earth — what, if any, may be the limit of the spirit's powers? 
The world has had its stone age, its ages of bronze and of iron, 
its age of steel, steam and electricity, why may the next step in 
its onward progress not be the age of spirit? And such, it 
seems to us, is the age upon which we are now entering. 
Strange things are happening everywhere, things that teach us 
that matter may be scattered as with a breath, and instantly 
reunited — that solids may seemingly be passed through solids 



CLINGING TO THE PAST. I 73 

— that even the human form maybe made to appear and disap- 
pear under the magic power of spirit. Is not the prophecy near 
fulfillment that mortal and spirit will walk the earth side by 
side, the latter tangible to physical sight and sense? 



CLINGING TO THE PAST. 



It is amazing with what tenacity some, indeed most, of 
our religious sects cling to the past. They shut their eyes to 
the facts of science and the modern development of spiritual 
truth, and grope along in the mist and shadows of a supersti- 
tious and barbarous past, thus hugging foolish and hurtful de- 
lusions to their souls in preference to the beautiful truth. 
They will accept as truth the assertion of some ancient 
semi-barbarism, and reject the evidence of their own senses ! 
They will believe the most amazing conceptions of supersti- 
tion concerning the Creator and his plans, that had their birth 
in the childhood of the race, in preference to the plain, com- 
prehensive facts of nature, which appeal convincingly to all 
enlightened minds. Truly, the sinuosities of the mortal mind are 
a great mystery and past finding out. 



OUR STEWARDS. 



It is an old saw — "It takes all kinds of people to make a 
world." For the best interests of the world — or rather for the 
highest unfoldment of humanity — teachers are needed, who, to 
attain the highest proficiency in their calling, have no time to 
enter the lists in the competitive struggle of life for the acqui- 
sition of wealth. They must give their lives to their work, and 
pursue the one high object to the end. The wealth-winners of 
the world must recognize this fact. They also must recognize 
the further fact, that is, the Spiritualist portion thereof; (and 
here is the application of the lesson of this fragment), that but 
few of them could, and probably none of them would, ever 
undertake to edit and publish a journal in the interest of the 



174 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



cause they profess to love. Hence, to them, as the custodians 
•of the earth's treasures, may we not rightfully and confidently 
look for the means for carrying forward this grand work? 



CASTING SEED UPON BARKEN GROUND. 



There is but little use in trying to impress spiritual truths 
upon minds not ready to receive them. It is simply casting 
■seed upon barren ground. Some skeptical persons seem to 
think that it is the imperative duty of Spiritualists to convince 
them of spiritual facts — to overcome them, as it were, with 
argument — and over-ride their objections. Not so. Let them 
wait until their hearts become tender with some great sorrow — 
until some bright light goes out of their lives, leaving their 
•spirits palled in the gloom of the skeptic's grave. Then will 
they be ready to listen to the Voice that is ever ready to speak 
comfort and hope to the saddened heart, and open the way to 
a beautiful communion with their loved ones on the other shore- 



The man who readily yields to a hot temper, and thus by 
his foolishness causes another pain, is sowing a crop of nettles 
in his spirit that will cause him a world of anguish sometime. 
They must all be weeded out before the rich harvest of a truly 
chastened nature can be gathered in. Not to be able to govern 
one's temper is such a sign of weakness in one as should make 
him blush for his manhood. 






" The greatest of these" — of the three Christian graces — 
-"is charity." "Faith may be lost in sight" — so reads a certain 
ritual, — " hope ends in fruition, but charity extends beyond 
the grave throughout the boundless realm of eternity," How 
grandly beautiful is the spirit star-gemmed with this divine 
light ! How its heavenly rays permeate human life ! How 
they enrich and ripen the spirit and draw it close within the 
_great loving arms of Infinite Love. 



TENDENCY OF SOCIETY. 



TENDENCY OF SOCIETY 



'75 



It is thought by many social scientists that the tendency 
of society in America, is toward anarchy. This inference is 
drawn from the rapid aggregation of wealth and power in the 
hands of the few, at the expense of the many. The remedy 
for this condition of things is thought to be found in National- 
ism. Great trusts can be safely vested only in the hands of the 
Government, and never in those of individuals, whose aim and 
ambition is self-aggrandizement. Thus it seems that Bellamy's 
dream, "Looking Backward," is something more than a dream. 
The Government owns the public lands; it owns the vast postal 
system ; it owns the canals (now coming into disuse), and the 
great highways of nature, — why should it not own the telegraph 
and railroad systems ? Why not control, for the best good of 
its citizens, the manufacture of cloth, lumber, iron and leather? 
Why should it not own the coal mines, and the oil deposits, 
and supply their products to the people at a minimum of cost? 
Corners in these great staples, for the benefit of individuals, 
would then be at an end ; and it really seems to be the only 
remedy for these evils. Prices of any given staple, under our 
present system, are not regulated by the supply, but by the 
ability of a few men to control the supply, and make the prices 
to suit themselves. This is a crying evil, and one that cannot be 
safely trusted to competition for its correction. Its only cure 
is in placing said staples beyond the reach of corporate trusts. 
Why not ? 

joj 

" A wonderful memory," is what the secular papers call 
it, when a blind colored baby, three years of age, in Chicago, 
gives the exact population of various cities at various times, 
and answers readily puzzling geographical questions, and per- 
forms other astonishing mental feats. There is no more mem- 
ory about that than there is in young Hoffman's piano playing, 
or in the writing in various languages by persons who have 



176 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

knowledge only of one language, such as we have often wit- 
nessed. These flashes of inspiration are something more than 
memory. 

* -*■ 
Nature demands implicit obedience of all her children. 
She will have no "talking back," no questioning of her ways or 
purposes, save but to bring the questioner into truer harmony 
with law. The sooner man learns this lesson and adopts it as 
the rule of his life, the better it will be for his happiness. The 
avalanche that sweeps down the mountain side is utterly mer- 
ciless, but no more so than the inexorable laws that govern 
human life. Poison kills just as certainly when administered 
by mistake as when taken with suicidal intent. Just in pro- 
portion as man is ignorant and disobedient will he be unhappy. 

What will it matter to the corpse whether it be embalmed and 
given a resting place in some costly mausoleum, or whether it 
occupies some obscure six-feet of earth — whether it goes back 
into the elements to which it belongs in five years or five 
thousand. The mummies of Egypt's kings make no better 
paper than those of her plebeian water carriers, nor are they 
any more respected. The only monument that will survive the 
ravages of time, is the one we build in the hearts and memories 
of our fellow-beings. 

The real things of the spirit cannot be measured or cognized 
by the mortal senses. Herein is found the stumbling block of 
the materialistic investigator of psychic phenomena. Who 
would "discern " the spirit in its true sense, must first exalt his 
own spiritual nature, and bring himself en rapport with the 
world of spirit forces and causes. 

What a barren waste is that human life that blossoms with 
no generous deeds, — where the rippling laughter of childhood is 



"AUNTY T 177 

never heard, and the sweet voice of love makes no melody in 
the soul. Better to bear the burdens of poverty for aye, better 
sickness and sorrow and even death itself, if but the beautiful 
hope of life beyond and the tender sympathy of one true heart 
be left. 

"AUNTY T " 






One of the sweetest and grandest souls we ever knew is a 
sunny-faced, matronly woman, going down into the sunset of 
mortal life, with a heart bubbling over with goodness. She 
belcngs to no church, — in fact she is a true Spiritualist,- — and 
the only religion she knows anything of, or believes in, is the 
religion of kind thoughts and good deeds. There was never a 
sick man, woman or child in the neighborhood where she 

resided, that doesn't have occasion to bless "Aunty T ,"as 

the young people of her acquaintance all call her ; never a 
sad, sin-sick soul turned away from her gentle and loving 
presence uncomforted. How she manages to do so much 
for others, and at the same time take care of her own home, 
which is always kept sweet and tidy, is more than we can 
understand. But, early and late, she is at her task of blessing 
somebody. If she belonged to a dozen churches, and sub- 
scribed to all the articles of faith in Christendom, does any one 
imagine she could be any better woman than she is ? And is 
there a believer in that cold, Calvinistic faith that would con- 
sign unbelieving souls in the abstract to eternal torment for the 
glory of God, who could really, away down in his own soul, 
have the slightest respect, to say nothing of veneration, for a 
Supreme Being who could make such a woman as this a sub- 
ject of his infinite wrath ? We think better of human nature 
than to believe it. 



All manifestations of nature must be the expression of 
Thought, the thought of an Infinite Mind, just as invention, 



178 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

art, poetry, etc., are the expressions of human or mortal mind. 
There is no method in chance, no harmony in chaos, and yet 
we recognize both method and harmony in the manifestations 
of nature. The crystal, with its delicate groupings of atoms, 
the flower with its beautiful arrangement of stamens and petals, 
the construction of the planets, of systems of suns and con- 
stellations, all express method, harmony and thought. Whence 
comes these expressions of thought? Let him answer, who 
denies the existence of a Supreme Being. 

A PATERNAL GOVERNMENT. 



We believe in a paternal and maternal government — a 
government that cares for and protects the weaklings of the 
great family. The parent shields the child from danger, and 
guards and protects its interests. What is man but a child 
"a little older grown ?". Thousands of our people are no more 
fitted to care for themselves than are children. They become 
the prey of the greedy and dishonest in many ways. They 
yield to temptations of vice and intemperance, and become 
burdens upon the thrifty and virtuous. Why should they not 
be protected, just as the wise father w r ould protect his child, for 
their own good, and the good of the rest of the family. We 
make law T s to restrain man in certain matters, thereby recogniz- 
ing the inability of some to respect the rights of others. Why 
should any be left to go to destruction ? What sort of a 
government is it that tempts any of its citizens to destruction, 
as our weak ones are tempted by the thousands of liquor 
saloons that defile all of our great cities ? When man becomes 
wise enough to be safely allowed to be a law unto himself, then 
he will need no other protection than that of his own unfolded soul. 
But the average man is yet far from that millennial condition. 

Who lives for earthly pleasure and gratification alone, with 
appetites and passions unbridled, cannot surely realize that he 



FOR SWEET CHARITY S SAKE. I '/ Q- 

is dragging down into the mire of his own lower nature, the 
royal standard of true manhood. Life is too short to live 
unworthily or unwisely. No one can afford to be profligate of 
time. And yet how many there are who become bankrupt in 
health and in character, before they have reached the meridian 
of their years. A few years hence, and how vain will seem all 
things that beguile the spirit into ignoble ways. 

" FOlt SWEET CHARITY'S SAKE." 



There are many needy ones in the world — men and 
women sick and friendless, and helpless orphans — who find it 
a hard struggle to live. A little judicious help, kindly be- 
stowed, will aid the giver as well as the receiver. It will bring 
comfort to the one, and an enlarged spiritual nature to the 
other. God pity the man or woman who never gives "for 
sweet charity's sake." It indicates that his nature is hard and 
selfish — that he has no sympathy for his suffering fellow-mor- 
tals. Who would like to carry such a spirit into the other life, 
where, we doubt not, he will find the greatest need of sympa- 
thy for himself? Give, though your means may be limited 
and the amount small. It is not the gift so much as the spirit 
of it that benefits the giver. If you have nothing of this 
world's worth to give, then give a kind word of sympathy. 
There is nothing like it to draw the spirit nearer to the great 
loving Soul of the Universe. 



We can learn to say "No" with a gentle grace that will 
even inspire a feeling of gratitude in the heart of the one 
denied. But the negations of many people are generally 
accepted, if not always so intended, as an offence. How much 
the thoughtful amenities of life smooth down the rough 
places, and lighten the burdens which most of us are required 
to bear. If you cannot grant your neighbor's request, do not 
refuse him with a stab. 



IOO SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

PHYSICAL COURAGE. 



Physical courage, when exercised in a worthy cause, is 
something to be commended — to be desired. But, when it is 
backed up by no moral' courage, there is no more merit in it 
than there is in the courage of the bull-dog or hyena. The 
physical bravery of the man that whips his wife, or that assaults 
old age, or that attacks an inferior in physical strength, is not 
true courage, but cowardice. Neither is it a commendable 
courage that prompts one to be tyrannical or overbearing, or 
quick to resent an insult with a blow, or ever ready to submit 
moral questions to the arbitrament of physical strength or skill. 
If the true test of merit in man or woman is found in the 
bull-dog side of his or her nature, then Sullivan is a better 
man than Daniel Webster, and Big Bertha a better woman 
than Sarah Cooper. These are the standards of barbarism — 
of a false chivalry — that makes heroes of bullies and black- 
guards. The courage to dare and do in a good cause has 
nothing in common with that courage that has no sound back- 
ing in moral principle. 

CHRISTMAS TIME. 



The glad Christmas time ! the time for generous deeds — for 
the exercise of the better humanities ! How the iron nature 
.glows and bends in the white heat of the divine thought of a liv- 
ing Christ. Strip the idea of all supernaturalism ; make him 
simply and naturally the son of Joseph and Mary ; call the 
story, if you will, a romance, a myth of the past, and yet the 
Christ idea remains, and ever will remain, to call forth the 
best, and the sweetest in human nature. It is then we recog- 
nize to a degree, the brotherhood of man — that we are all 
children of a common Father, who never wearies in his love for 
us, or in the bestowing of his bounties. The beautiful Angel 
of Charity, all mantled with the smile of God, walks forth in 
these glad Christmas days, into the byways of life, carrying 



WHAT CARE WE. l8l 

joy and comfort to the hearts and homes of the poor. Even 
the poor unfortunate within prison bars opens the wicket of 
his cell to bid the Divine Guest to enter in. We glory in the 
spirit of "peace on earth, good will to man," which the cele- 
bration of the birth of the Christ-child ever brings to the race. 

WHAT CAKE WE? 



What care we now for the pains we have suffered or the 
sorrows we have endured in the past. Is nature unkind or 
God cruel because sickness, pain and death is the common lot 
of humanity ? Is the calamity of the cyclone, or the scourge 
that lays waste the habitations of men, an evidence of a malign 
influence at the helm of the Universe? Not at all. Should 
we not regard all such seeming evils as the efforts of Old 
Nature to evolve a perfect man ? A hundred years from now, 
what will it matter to us what thorny paths we are now tread- 
ing with bleeding feet? Shall we not then be able to see, in 
the clearer light of eternity, what now is hidden from our sight, 
.and know of a verity that all is for the best ? The child can 
not understand the wisdom of parental restraint ; but there 
comes a time when it is made clear to him, and he recognizes 
it as a blessing in disguise. 



THE EIGHT WAY. 



"As ye sow so also shall ye reap. " There was never a 
truer maxim. Whether it be of good thoughts and kind acts, 
-or their opposites. If ye sow idleness and dissipation ye reap 
poverty, disease and early death. If ye sow dishonor, ye reap 
its sure harvest of shame. This is the law, founded in the 
-constitution of man. It is the code of the moral universe, 
whose penalties none can escape. The right way is marked 
by finger posts at every point of deviation ; there are guide 
boards at every pitfall. Therefore, why should any err? Yet 
notwithstanding all precautions and warnings, many there be 



I 32 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

whose footsteps are sure to wander from the straight and beatera 
path. Hence the wrecks of humanity that strew the shores of 
time — the "frightful examples" to warn others of the dangers 
of wrong-doing — a mighty multitude moving down to the gates 
of death. O, it is pitiable ! 



There is no life so complete that the eye of Perfection 
may not see in it many defects. It is this imperfection that 
makes us kin with all humanity. We cannot separate our- 
selves from our kind. We are a part of all, and all are a part of us. 
— each dependent upon every other — each a help or hin- 
drance to his fellows. And this unity of being does not end 
with this life ; it embraces all conscious intelligence in the uni- 
verse, from an infant angel to an infinite God, with whom we 
are all ONE. 






The Spiritualism that has no element of spirituality in it 
— the Spiritualism of phenomenalism and sensuous excitement 
solely — is of no more benefit to an individual than the fetich- 
ism of the barbarian. It must touch the soul and quicken 
the finer qualities of the man into activity — it must make him. 
grander, more gentle and charitable, more loving and kind — 
it must ennoble him in every department of his physical and 
spiritual nature, to be of any real benefit to him. This is the 
kind of Spiritualism that comes of the higher teachings from 
the spirit world. 

How very, very brief, at its longest, is mortal life ! We- 
scarcely reach years of accountability before we begin to note 
traces of decay and death. The lucks are threaded with silver, 
the eye loses its luster, and ere long the step becomes feeble 
with the palsy of approaching dissolution. Look back, ye- 
who have reached life's limit of years ! How like a swiftly 
fleeting dream does it not all seem ! And what a hollow 
mockery of happiness is all that ministers to the vanity and 



A WORD IN YOUR FAR. 1 83 

selfishness of earth ! The bright, shining gold of character is 
all that is of value to the spirit now that it is about to lay all 
things else aside, and step out naked into the new life. Is it 
not so, O Sire ? 

A WORD IN YOUR EAR. 






Young man, a word in your ear. We know you — we 
have "trod the wine press" of your temptations — have reveled 
in your hopes and aspirations. If you were driving a pair of 
high metaled thoroughbreds, how taut you would hold the reins ; 
how carefully you would watch every motion. No wayside 
object which might cause them fright would escape your notice. 
You would hold them steadily to their work to your journey's 
end. Your passions and appetites are those high-strung 
chargers, and you, your better self, your spiritual nature, are 
the driver. The drinking saloon, the haunts of so-called 
pleasure, the temptations to a life of idleness, these are the 
wayside objects you must guard against, and which will require 
your constant vigilance. Take care there ! Hold a steady 
rein ! The vortex of a wrecked life is at the right, and danger 
and death at the left and just before you ! Angels are watch- 
ing you. Loved ones on the mortal plane, with eager eyes, 
are hoping, praying, that you may reach your journey's end in 
safety. Oh, disappoint them not ! 

All Nature is throbbing with life divine — the earth, the 
air, the sea. God is indeed everywhere. Upborne on the 
crest of the wave of the infinite sea of life is man, the highest 
and most perfect expression of God in matter. On and on 
through the ages, from infinity to infinity, the work of man's 
spiritual unfoldment is ever progressing, nearing but never 
reaching absolute perfection. How vast the thought! The 
question with every unfolded soul is not, " What is man that 
Thou art mindful of him?" but, "What is God that He 
should be mindful of man?" 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS, 
UNUSED WEALTH. 



It is impossible for one to hold great wealth in possession 
long unused, without closing the avenues of the spirit to those 
ennobling graces, those beautiful unfoldments, that distinguish 
right royal manhood from an intelligent animal. " Ye cannot 
serve God and Mammon/' He serves Mammon in selfishly 
getting, with no thought of generous giving. It is glorious to 
be able to give, when such ability finds a generous response in 
the soul. In the journey and struggle of life there are so 
many who are unable to bear their burdens alone — and then 
it so enlarges one's own soul to lend a helping hand to the 
weak — that it is truly grand to be strong, where strength is thus 
used for the good of others. But to be strong, to be rich, for one's 
self alone — ah, that is what shrinks the spirit. 



Some people are always looking backward ; they seem to 
be anchored to the past. Pride of ancestry, tradition of opin- 
ion, what has been, is vastly more to them than what is, or 
what may be. Lucky for the world — for the cause of human 
progress — that some there are who have but little respect for 
tradition, or authority of opinion. They prefer to do their own 
thinking, although they may not always think wisely. They 
regard it as far more creditable to believe an error, or come to 
a wrong conclusion, after a careful examination of any given 
subject, than to accept the truth blindly, without investigation. 
Of such is ever the grand army of reformers in the world's 
ways and works. 

*** 

Why plow with a forked stick, or carry your grist to the 
mill with your corn in one end of the sack and a stone in the 
other? That is just what all are doing who pin their faith 
upon the sleeve of tradition. The evolution of humanity 
from some lower form of life, and that from some still 
lower form, reaching back through aeons, to the first quiv- 



BELIEF. 185 

ering protoplasm or jellyfish throbbing with divine impulse 
on the magin of some paleozoic sea, is a fact as well demon_ 
strated as the rotundity of the earth. Hence, the religious 
thought adapted to the infancy of the race is but mother's 
milk to the full grown man. And hence, again, the religion 
that does not keep step to the march of human progress, must 
needs stand aside and give place to something better. 



There is no virtue — there can be none — in mere belief. 
It is not what a man believes but what he is and does that 
makes the man. If one believes all the dogmas of Christianity, 
and practices iniquity, no evangelical Christian will concede to 
him the possibility of salvation. On the other hand, if one 
practices every Christian virtue, but reject the dogmas of the 
churches, they regard him as alike lost to all eternity. Now here 
is a strange inconsistency. If it is really the practice of the 
virtues that saves the believer, why should not the practice of 
said virtues save the non-believer ? Honest belief is a matter 
of evidence and conviction. If one has ever been convinced 
of the truth of a religious dogma, and has no conviction there- 
of, how is it possible for him to believe ? And if he cannot 
believe why should he be condemned for what he cannot help? 
If eternal justice is an attribute of Deity, what must the answer 
to these questions necessarily be ? 

Trouble, sickness, and sorrow are only for the moment. 
We never seriously regret these ills when they have passed by. 
In fact, we very often recognize in these afflictions much needed 
and helpful lessons of life and duty. The lash of physical 
pain is often necessary to keep us mindful of the duty we owe 
to our bodies. When we shall reach the sunlit shores of 
the Hereafter, and can look back over the varied experiences 
of our mortal lives, we doubt if we would be willing to part 



1 86 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

with a single pang, physical or spiritual, we ever endured. 
They will all be seen to have had their divine uses in shaping 
our characters for good, and fitting us for the truer enjoyment 
of life in spirit realms. 

IN A MANGEK. 



Christ came to Joseph and Mary, two poor young people 
of Nazareth, ignoring the ostentation and pomp in which the 
Jews looked for him to come ; hence, they rejected him. The 
wonderful manifestations of Modern Spiritualism, bearing to 
the world the positive proofs of a continued existence beyond 
the grave, came first to three young people in humble life re- 
siding in Western New York. It is nearly always thus, that 
through the weak and lowly of this world — " from the mouths of 
babes and sucklings'" — come the great truths that confound 
the wise, and the wise reject them. Truly, " God moves in a 
mysterious way His wonders to perform/' It is not for us to 
question His methods, but to accept with grateful hearts what- 
ever of good He chooses to bestow upon us. 



"Try the spirits," is an injunction quite as necessary and 
important in these days as in those of St. Paul. It is an 
injunction, also, whereof Spiritualists should take heed quite as 
much as skeptics or unbelievers. Above all things should we 
never surrender our reason or common sense. If some mis- 
guided or undeveloped spirit, representing himself as some 
master- soul of by-gone ages, comes to us with folly in his mes- 
sage, we should exercise our sovereign right of judgment to 
cast him aside with a word of friendly advice to mend his ways. 
Plato and Socrates were not imbeciles in their mortal existence 
and certainly they are not so now. 

What a blessed thing Js death, when it comes in the full- 
ness of time to relieve the spirit of its worn-out body. With 



SUNSHINE. 187 

the old house falling into decay with age, the roof leaky, and 
the walls mouldy and cheerless, how gladly the tenant — if he 
has lived wisely and well — goes forth to occupy his beautiful 
mansion builded for him in the Summer Land. There should 
be no sorrow in old age, for it is then "we are almost there," 
and the glad thought should fill the soul with delight. The 
haven lies just beyond that bank of clouds we call death. See 
ye not the harbor lights, O Sire, and thrills not your spirit with 
joys of the home gathering so near at hand? 



SUNSHINE. 



Our lives should be full of sunshine, no matter how hard 
or humble the lot we are called upon to fill ; for in the sun- 
light of the soul we can all the better bear the ills that may be- 
fall us. It is the cheerful spirit that suffers the least in sick- 
ness. The shadows of physical pain will often flee away if we 
confront them in a spirit of gladness, determined to accept 
whatever comes to us as for our good. Why should we mope 
and mourn over earthly losses, when such losses may prove 
riches to us in the Beyond? Surely our houses and lands, and 
•our treasures of gold and silver, will be nothing to us "over 
there," and unless we use them wisely here, they will doubtless 
be worse than useless — a millstone to prevent the spirit from rising 
above the earth. 



PREJUDICE. 



Prejudice is a terrible bar to spiritual growth. We know 
a good mediumistic lady, who would, in the privacy of her 
own home, dearly delight to permit her loved ones on the spirit 
shore to come near to her, but is positively forbidden by her 
husband to enjoy communion therewith. This same husband, 
when their little five-year old daughter was languishing on a 
bed of mortal sickness, declared that he would prefer that she 
never recover, than to be cured by Spiritual Science. And 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



now in his childless home, he still nurses his bitter enmity 
toward those gentle and benign influences, those loving ones r 
who, in sorrow, are made to turn away from his heart and 
home. Ah, what tears he may yet shed in this life, what 
agony of spirit he may endure in the next, for this stubborness 
of unreasoning purpose, only the pitying angels may know. 
Old Theology, thou distorter of the truth, thou murderer of 
helpless babes, what crimes hast thou not to answer for ! 



BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE. 



The storm and the tempest, the lightning's vivid flash, the 
fierce commotion of the elements, all have their uses in the 
natural world, to purify the air and clear the sky of clouds. 
We breathe more freely when the storm is past. The earth 
seems cleaner, the birds sing with a sweeter melody, the air is 
fragrant with the new, fresh breath of flowers. So is it with 
the storms that at times sweep over the human spirit. If we 
but bow to the blast, we shall 'rise again in greater strength, 
and life will have a clearer and brighter outlook than ever be- 
fore. If that which seems to be an affliction is accepted in 
the right spirit, it then becomes as a refining fire, burning 
away the dross and impurities of our natures, and leaving in 
the crucible of life the pure gold of the spirit. Poverty, sick- 
ness and misfortune — all are blessings in disguise, if we but 
learn to accept them as such. 



RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT. 



How apt we are to judge matters outside of ourselves by 
our own moods of mind ! Thus, when we stand above the 
clouds, upon the mountain top, all things around us are bathed 
in the beautiful sunlight ; but when immersed in the shadows 
of the valley, we see only gloom in our surroundings. This is 
a dreary, dark, and dreadful world, says the misanthrope. 
How bright and beautiful is nature, responds the soul aglow 



don't crowd. 189 

with happiness. A few weeks ago, deeply pained at the frauds 
and impostures practiced in the name of our religion, we 
wrote, "Truly the evil days have come to our beautiful Spirit- 
ualism." Now, in the clearer light of the hilltop, we rejoice 
that the clouds have rolled away. We wonder if the prospect 
of a better and brighter home for the Golden Gate has any 
bearing upon our changing moods of mind ! 

DON'T CROWD. 



Don't crowd ! The world is big enough for all. Keep to 
the right and don't joggle your neighbor. Thus will you make 
the journey easier for yourself as well as for your fellow travelers 
to the grave. The grave ! Did it never occur to you, dear 
reader, that that is the one place in all creation where every- 
body minds his own business. There is no crowding there, nor 
taking an unfair advantage of a fellow tenant in common. The 
highwayman can lie alongside the honest Granger who has just 
sold his wheat, without the slightest desire to pick his pockets. 
The one "ewe lamb" of the widow's heart and home can trust 
herself there with the cruel spoiler. There is no envy, or 
suspicion, or hatred in the grave. Parents, what though your 
children who have passed out of your sight, return not home to 
you at night, our word for it, they are up to no mischief now. 
Look for them beyond the shining portals, where death has 
lost its sting, and the grave is swallowed up in victory. 

If the man who poisons his exhalations with tobacco could 
only realize what a walking stench he makes of himself to all 
clean persons, he would surely abandon the nasty habit. But 
he doesn't. He imagines his breath to be as sweet as the 
" balm of a thousand flowers," when in fact the mal-odor of a 
tan yard is attar of roses in comparison. Many a sensitive and 
finely organized wife has no doubt yielded up the ghost on the 
altar of a tobacco-smirched husband — gone up higher where 
the air is purer. 



190 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

"LIFE UNTO LIFE." 



The gift of mediumship ennobles or degrades its possessor 
just in proportion as the latter exercises it for the good of 
humanity, or for his own selfish advantage. In the latter case 
he unwillingly yokes himself with all the selfishness of the 
universe, and undeveloped and mischievous spirits are not 
•slow to avail themselves of the opportunity to practice their 
mischief through him. But if his beautiful gift is ennobled 
with a sincere desire for the good of others, and a subordination 
•of self to the higher aspirations of the spirit, it then becomes 
"a savor of life unto life " to the world. Spiritualism needs 
more of this kind of mediumship. It is the kind that links the 
mortal to the angel, and calls forth the purest and holiest joys and 
•emotions of the soul. 



GROPING IN DARKNESS. 



There are times in the life of every sensitive soul, we care 
not how highly unfolded, when it seems as though all hope and 
joy had fled forever — when one can but grope in darkness, and 
the heavens seem shrouded in impenetrable gloom. It is then 
one needs some strong arm on which to lean — some true heart 
to which one can turn for sympathy and comfort, until the 
clouds have passed away. Happy the mortal who possesses 
such a friend ! These Gethsemanes of sorrow are doubtless a 
part of the education the spirit needs to fit it for the higher life. 
It is then the Great Assayer of character stamps upon the 
burnished ingot of the soul its mint value. Then, let us 
welcome the cloud and the storm — yea, even the fierce gleam 
of the lightning's wrath — as the furnace fires of God's loving 
purpose in moulding us into his image. 

Give, if you would be happy — give of kind thoughts and 
gentle words always ; they are often more precious than silver 
or gold — give of your bounty of earthly treasure ; give of the 



A GRAVE MISTAKE. 191 

weetness of your own soul ; give freely and ungrudgingly, to 
all whom it is in your power to bless. We are told that "God 
loves a cheerful giver." We are quite sure that angels do, for 
do they not always tell us so ? 

m — ■ 

A GRAVE MISTAKE. 



It is generally understood among investigators of psychic 
phenomena that the qualities essential for physical mediumship 
are quite as independent of conscience or morality as is the 
gift of poetry or painting. There is a disposition with many 
Spiritualists to tolerate dishonesty in mediums for the sake of 
their mediumship. This a grave mistake, and leads to dis- 
aster to the cause. And here we should learn to discriminate 
between the work of tricky or undeveloped spirits, who some- 
times use mediums to their disadvantage, and the practice of 
deliberate fraud, such as the employment of confederates, the 
use of prepared paraphernalia, etc. In the former case we 
should be lenient and charitable ; in the latter, it is wrong to 
both spirits and mortals to seek to condone or palliate. Such 
mediums should be " driven from the synagogue," and made 
to do penance until they can reform their ways. The medium 
who cheats in one phase should not be credited or tolerated in 

any other. 

— ^ ■ ♦ ■ »■ — ■ — 

What an unnatural idea of the All-Good has orthodoxy 
given to the world ! Take Calvanism, with its cruel doctrine 
of election to eternal misery ; take that " mathematical con- 
tradiction," as Ingersoll styles it, known as the Trinity, which 
nobody can explain or understand ; take the atonement — the 
shifting of the sins of the world upon the shoulders of a pure 
and innocent person, and then killing him to satisfy Eternal 
Justice ; — in short, take the infantile stories of the Creator, 
running through both Testaments, and how puerile they all 
seem to the enlightened reason. Such, surely, is not the God 
that all Nature worships. 



192 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



A person visiting foreign lands finds it necessary for his 
convenience to change his money into the current coin of the 
realm whither he goes. Here is a hint to those about to visit 
the realm of the "Beyond." But how, do you ask, can the 
traveler, in this case, change his wealth into currency that will 
be of any use to him "over there?" We answer, he must 
spiritualize it, that is, convert it into noble deeds for the up- 
lifting of humanity. He who gives wisely receives. As his 
deposits diminish here they increase there. Every rich man 
has it in his power to enter spirit life a prince; or he may go, 
as goes the galley slave, "scourged to his dungeon" by the 
lash of his own selfishness. 



* * 



God does not expect us to be eternally praising Him. 
He has no vanity requiring any such adulation from the chil- 
dren of His creation. Neither does He expect us to go through 
life mourning continually for our sins. But He does by His 
Spirit appeal to us to be manly, to be upright, to be charitable 
and kind, to be true and steadfast to the monitor within, to be 
wise rulers of the temple we live in, and so live that when the 
last summons comes, each and every one may leave the world 
better than he found it. 



There is no joy like love, no pain like hate. In one 
blossom all the delights of life — health, companionship, spiritual 
growth, and at last, and including all, heaven itself. In the 
other we behold all hideous shapes, phantoms of fear, grim horrors 
of despair, the fungus growth of disease and death. The man 
or woman who passes through life unloving and unloved, 
misses "by an infinite waste of barren years " the road to true 
happiness. 






The Spiritualist whose faith is shaken in our grand truths, 
and who is disposed to reject the whole, because forsooth he 



A WIDE GULF. 193 

may have been deceived by some confederate playing spirit at 
a materializing seance, would throw all his gold into the sea 
because he found a spurious coin in his pocket. 



A WIDE GULF. 



There is a wide gulf betvven the teachings of Jesus and 
the ironclad creeds of the churches. True, it is claimed that 
the latter are the natural deductions of the former; but are 
they ? How do we know really what Jesus taught. There 
were no short hand reporters in his day. It is claimed by wise 
scholars that no record of the sayings or teachings of Christ 
was made until some three hundred years after his death. 
That he taught the principles of love, charity and good will to 
man, and that he practiced the wonderful gift of healing, we 
can well believe ; but that he ever taught the dogmas of eccle- 
siasticism we may well question. Christianity, pure and sim- 
ple, is goodness, all else is the mere speculation of a priest- 
hood seeking for ecclesiastical power. Love is superior to 
law or belief. Whose heart is full of love for .his fellow beings 
never has time or place to bother with the dogmatic teachings of 
ecclesiasticism. 



SIRE INDICATIONS. 



The state of one's own spiritual unfoldment is invariably 
determined by one's expressed thoughts of others. If one 
thinks kindly and speaks kindly of others, no matter how 
great or many their failings may be, it is a sure indication of a 
beautiful spirit. Such an one sees only the good there is in 
their neighbors — for there is good in all. The worst person 
living has some good traits — some vritues, that commend 
themselves to the good, and which such souls invariably rec- 
ognize, and are ever ready to encourage and uphold. On the 
other hand, there are those who seemingly take delight in the 
shortcomings and weaknesses of their fellow beings — to whom 



194 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

an unsavory scandal is a " sweet morsel under the tongue," 
which they will repeat with an unction that is truly painful to 
the highly unfolded spirit. Blessed and beautiful is the man 
or woman who thinks no ill. 






ADJUSTMENT OF SELF TO ENVIRONMENT. 



It is evidently the privilege as it is the duty of every in- 
dividual to get out of life all the happiness possible. This 
can be accomplished only through the possession of a healthy 
physical body, and a proper adjustment of one's self to one's 
environment As moral beings we cannot be happy at the 
expense or unhappiness of another. We can not trench upon 
another's rights in this respect. Herein is where man differs 
from the brute. The latter recognizes only the law of might, 
and its happiness consists only of physical enjoyment. TKe 
big dog has no pricking of conscience for robbing the smaller 
one of its bone. Some men are made so nearly in that way 
that they can enjoy ill-gotten gains. Whoever can should 
know thereby that there is something wrong with them, and 
that they will have a long way to climb before they can reach a 
perfect manhood. 



Spiritualists, of all other people, need to "hold themselves 
level'' — for the reason that they are brought face to face, 
often, with facts and phenomena of a most startling character. 
They should weigh well and carefully consider the startling 
manifestations they are permitted to witness ; and especially 
should they not attempt to force their conclusions, in any dog- 
matic way, upon the minds and consciences of their neighbors. 
Everybody needs, and must have, the positive proof in his own 
experience. He will take no one's word, in spiritual matters, 
implicitly. The advocate of the phenomenal facts of Spiritual- 
ism, whereof he has had convincing proof, should remember 
this. 



FORTUNES LADDER. I 95 

FORTUNE'S LADDER. 



Some good souls wonder why it is that, with their charitable 
natures, good intentions, and industrious and temperate habits, 
they should always be at the bottom of fortune's ladder, while oth- 
er people, wanting in all these virtues, revel in abundance. They 
seem to think that in some way Providence is not dealing fairly 
with them. Now, if the "abundance" their hearts long for were 
the highest end of being, and there were no hereafter in which 
to adjust the losses and apparent mistakes of time, they might 
reasonably conclude that there was some injustice in the divine 
order of things. But Nature has all space and all eternity in 
which to strike her balances. In her own way and in her own 
good time, we doubt not, it will be found that she has dealt 
fairly by all, and each one will see and realize that whatever his 
lot in life may have been, that however great the seeming 
disparity, between his own condition and that of others, it was 
the very best condition for him — best suited to the higher 
needs of his spirit. In this faith we should live, and therein 
we could get out of life its highest measure of happiness for 
ourselves. 

ioj 

The man who is eternally muck-raking for the evil in his 
neighbors, sometimes finds his own gutters and back yards- 
exposed and overhauled in a way he little dreamed of. It is 
not Christ-like to strike back, but there are cases where nature 
puts in a plea of justifiable homicide, and the world, which is 
far from just, looks on and commends. 

How can we get the best out of life? This is a question 
of the utmost importance to every human soul. Here are a few 
simple negations that may help to answer the question satisfac- 
torily. 1 st, Not by indulgence in liquor, tobacco, or late 
hours; or by any abuse of the temple of the soul. 2nd, Not 
by harboring unworthy thoughts, or thinking unkindly of any 



196 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

"human being. 3rd, Not by selfishly shutting ourselves out 
from the great world of humanity and its pressing needs ; and 
4 th, Not by barring the windows of our souls to the light and 
love of the spirit world. 



COMPLAINING. 



Some one has wisely said, ''There are two things man 
* l should never trouble himself about — the unpleasant things he 
"can help and correct, and the things he cannot." Of course, 
the evils he can alleviate he should set himself at the task of 
correcting, and those that are beyond his reach it will do him 
not the slightest good to fret about. Some people waste their 
lives in complaining, and thereby they invite all manner of 
causes for complaint. We have known families whose homes 
were but little less than apothecary shops, so vast was the array 
of all manner of medicine bottles in sight. The result was 
that there was some one in said homes always ailing. Whereas, 
if they would take Shakespeare's advice, " Throw physic to the 
dogs," welcome the air and sunlight to their bed- rooms, and, 
above all, quit thinking themselves sick ; or, if they are a little 
out of harmony, forget themselves in the alleviation of the 
miseries of others, they might soon laugh at their follies and 
infirmities. The trouble with most people is they think too 
much about themselves — their aches and pains, their poverty 
or their riches, their likes and dislikes, when their true way to 
happiness would be to turn their thoughts away to the great 
world of wrong and misery around them, and by every effort in 
their power work to lift the burdens of others. 



Sensible minds do not judge Christianity by the horrors 
of the Inquisition, nor by the cruel wars that for ages followed 
in its trail, nor by its persecution for opinion's sake, nor by its 
occasional delinquents from grace; but by the good it has 
done, for the sad hearts it has made glad, and for the heavy 



ACTING ONES BEST. 1 97 

burdens of woe it has lifted from the shoulders of the race. 
Why should not Spiritualism be judged by the same charitable 
and righteous judgment? Because bad people sometimes use it for 
a cloak for unrighteous deeds, therefore should it be condemned? 
Shall its blessings to the world be rejected, because mediums 
.are not all honest, nor Spiritualists all good and pure ? 



ACTING ONE'S BEST. 



What a world this would be if all would live and act their 
best — that is, as they could live, if they would, notwithstanding 
all their imperfections, all their ignorance, and all their tendency 
to evil. The toper would cease his tippling, and save his earn- 
ings to carry joy to his family ; the wrong doer of every description 
would turn from his evil practices and live in the better side of 
bis nature. Fault-finding, cross-grained husbands and wives 
would become lovers again, and their children would rejoice 
.and grow up in the sunshine of happy homes. We should 
then only hear good of everybody. The seller would consult 
the interests of the buyer, and the buyer of the seller. We 
should all take a friendly interest in each other's welfare, and 
together jog along happily side by side to the better country. 
Is it not glorious to think such things possible? 

PITIABLE. 



" Charity suffereth long and is kind." One of the most 
pitiable things in the universe is a man without charity in his 
soul. He is usually one so puffed up in his own conceit that 
be becomes indifferent to the ills or trials of another. The 
■prayer of every true soul should be : " Help us, thou pure and 
shining ones, to bear each others burdens, and to sympathize 
with the weak and unfortunate in their troubles and afflictions." 
Did it never occur to you, dear reader, that you might have 
been a thief or a drunkard? Is it any virtue of yours that you 
are not? It is much more to the credit of some men that 



I98 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

they are only moderately bad, than it is to others that they are 
really good. To the latter it may be quite impossible to be 
otherwise ; while it may cost the former a hard struggle not to- 
be worse. 



-§o§- 



IMMENSTTY OF THE UNIVERSE. 



Did you ever try to realize the immensity of the universe,, 
of which our little world is the smallest of tens of thousands ? — - 
stars so remote that a ray of light traveling at the rate of near- 
ly 200,000 miles a second, would require centuries to reach 
the earth ? The mind is utterly powerless to grasp such dis- 
tances. Man, of his own powers, is only cognizant of a few 
things, and those of a certain dimension. Reaching upward 
with the telescope, and downward with the microscope, he is 
able to unveil new worlds and countless forms of life that were 
entirely beyond his grasp before. Think you, with these helps 
to his eyesight, he has reached the limits of life or space? 
Far from it. There is still infinitude beyond. The measure- 
less expanse of ether is doubtless filled with life, tangible and 
real to a finer than mortal sense. And so the Psalmist might 
well exclaim, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him? ,p 
A mere speck on the object glass of God's great microscope. 

PURPOSES OF CREATION. 



Who that has stood by the bedside of a dying child, and' 
watched its fluttering pulse and labored breathing, but has felt, 
somehow, that the purposes of creation in that life had been 
thwarted — that the earth experience which is believed to be 
necessary for the spirit's highest unfoldment, having been 
denied in this case, a great wrong had been done to the child — 
that Nature had not been just or fair in the distribution of her 
favors. Herein, we think, may be found one of the strongest 
reasons favoring re-embodiment. Not that it is a reason at. 
all ; but it looks somewhat that way to the " mortal mind.' ? 



CONTENTMENT. 1 99 

The spirit that seeks earth expression and fails, ought, surely 5 
to have a chance to try again — that is, if the spirit is permitted 
any voice in the matter. 

CONTENTMENT. 



It is not what one has that brings one happiness, but what 
one is contented with. There is many a sad heart, worried 
mind, and sickly body, linked to a large bank account. An 
elegant home is but a poor comfort to one with a skeleton in 
the closet. Infinitely better a life of daily toil and a humble 
cot with health and contentment. A man with a cancer in 
his throat may be Emperor of Germany, or President of the 
United States, and where is the peasant, or day laborer, that 
would exchange places and conditions with him. Give us to 
know the truth, in health and peace, with a heart in sympathy 
with humanity, and we care not who rides in his carriage, or 
revels in his riches. 

" With charity for all and malice toward none," — this was 
the actuating motive of that grand soul, Abraham Lincoln, in 
his dealings, as the President of the United States, with those 
misguided sons of the South who were seeking the overthrow 
of the Republic. What nobler or better rule of action could 
one adopt in his intercourse with the world, and especially in his 
dealings with those he believes to be in error. Suppose you 
try it, dear reader, for a single day. 

An intelligent friend of the writer, working long hours on 
a small salary — one much given to speculating on the philos- 
ophy and wherefore of human existence, — remarked to us, 
recently, that he had come to the conclusion, that a future life 
was not desirable. We replied that whether desirable or not, 
did not change the fact — he would surely continue to live 
after the change we call death; that the true business of this 



2 00 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

life is to bring ourselves into harmony with nature, make the 
best of our opportunities, and do all the good we can, thereby 
the better preparing the spirit for the activities and enjoyments 
of the life to come. Looked at in a true light, hard work and 
even poverty, may become blessings. 



PERVERSION OF CHRISTIANITY 



It is not Christianity, but the perversion thereof, that the 
skeptical world can justly condemn. Christianity, as embod- 
ied in the simple teachings of Jesus, is one thing, and as di- 
verted and perverted through the channels of human selfish- 
ness, pride, ambition and the lusts of the mortal mind, is quite 
another. The philosophy and higher teachings of Spiritualism 
simply divest Christianity of its crudities and imperfections, 
and restore it to the world in all its original purity and 
beanty. What is there in the practice and the teachings 
of the "Man of Sorrows," who "went about doing good," 
and who "had not where to lay his head," that is in 
anywise in common with the aristocratic religion of a 
modern fashionable Christian Church ? They are as far 
apart as the East is from the West. Jesus came to his 
disciples, in bodily form, after his transition to spirit life. 
Does he ever come to the haughty purse-proud believers in 
him now-a-days ? In mortal life he healed the sick by the 
laying on of hands, and plainly taught that " greater things 
than these," should be done by those who followed him in the 
spirit. If he told the truth then who are his true disciples 
now ? 

In tens of thousands of homes to-day, through one or 
more members of the household, comes the beautiful inspira- 
tion of the angel world. Wives, mothers, and daughters, and 
oftentimes husbands and sons, in vast numbers, are develop- 
ing spiritual powers, often where they little dreamed such pow- 



OLD AGE. 20 I 

ers possible. In all such cases, where the aspirations and de- 
sires for the good and pure prevail, there is a quiet work of 
spiritual enlightment and unfoldment steadily progressing, rev- 
olutionizing, harmonizing and sweetening family life as none 
but those thus blessed can understand. 



OLD AGE. 



" O, the horrors of old age!" exclaimed, a bright lady 
friend of the writer recently : " To feel that one's youthful 
" charms are fading away, and the once fair features becoming 
" wrinkled with age — is it not terrible?" Not at all, we re- 
plied, if one's spirit has profited as it ought by its earth experi- 
ences. There is no beauty like that of a beautiful spirit. The 
woman who, at fifty, has not come to realize this fact has lived 
to a poor purpose, and now learns too late that she has " built 
her house upon the sand." No one, with the brains of a 
chickadee, can look into the face of a truly spiritual woman — 
one who has grown with her years into the higher graces and 
glories of true womanhood — and ever detect a wrinkle there. 
But it is a sad thing when wrinkles come upon the spirit. 

" SHALL I GIVE UP MY RELIGION?" 



"Shall I give up my religion — the religion of my arices- 
"try — the religion of the Bible — for a belief in Spiritualism?" 
Inquires some anxious soul first brought face to face with some 
unanswerable fact of our spiritual philosophy. By no means? 
we answer. You need give up nothing in your religion that is 
of the slightest value to you — not a principle of the Golden 
Rule, nor of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. The fables of 
your faith — such as a belief in a lost world, a vicarious atone- 
ment, a literal resurrection of the body, eternal punishment, a 
personal'devil, etc., — these you will naturally outgrow, because 
they are all inconsistent with the constitution of the Universe, 
and man's higher spiritual unfoldment. "But the Bible teaches 



2 02 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

these things," dc you say ? Well, the Bible is the work of 
man, in its makeup, at least, else no " revision " would be 
necessary. There is surely much of it that could not possibly 
be the "word of God," or of that divine inspiration which is 
the same in kind through all ages and forever. 

* * 
The higher spiritual development — that is, development 
of the greatest use and benefit to the mediums and their im- 
mediate surroundings — can come to those only who take the 
least thought of themselves, or of the pecuniary advantages 
that may accrue to them from the exercise of their gifts. Not that 
a good medium, who gives his entire time to others, is not en- 
titled to reasonable compensation for his services, especially if 
it is his only means of livelihood ; but unless the money con- 
sideration is a secondary matter wholly, and the good that he 
can do of the first importance, his own spiritual nature derives 
no benefit from his gifts. 

Who values life for its sensuous enjoyment and pleasures 
only, will wake up some day to a terrible realization of the fact 
that his ships, that sailed away in early life with such bright 
hopes, have all been lost at sea — gone down with their rich 
cargoes of golden promises and possibilities — to return to him 
no more forever. The young woman who lives to be admired 
for her physical charms, at the expense of the more enduring 
graces of the spirit — who delights in the adulation and flattery 
of brainless dudes — feeds her soul upon husks. Spiritual star- 
vation with her is only a question of time. 

What must be the rich man's feelings when he first wakes 
up in the world " beyond the sunrise," to find that his pockets 
have been picked by the burglar Death, of the keys to his safe 
— when he realizes that, forevermore, he can have no more 
handling of his gold? How it must sicken his soul to see 



SOMETHING BETTER. 2O3 

his accumulations scattered by profligate heirs, or wasted in 
unprofitable litigation. Better oblivion than such a fate. How 
many such we could all name, whose souls are thus chained to 
"night's Plutonian shore/' 

joj 

SOMETHING BETTEli. 



To denounce one's errors of belief, is not the way to 
correct one of those errors. You must show him something 
better in your own belief, something that will appeal to his 
higher spiritual nature. In the bitter denunciation of the 
•churches, as practiced by some Spiritualists, they are but putting 
far away the conversion of church members and religionists to 
the grand truths of Spiritualism. You cannot hurt a fellow man in 
the most vital part of his nature — his religious opinions — and 
expect him to love you. You cannot lift a man up by knocking 
him down. You can win him, if at all, only by showing him 
the better way, and by walking therein yourself. Don't extol 
your own religious opinions over those of your neigbor, except 
hy showing and comparing the fruits thereof. This standard 
of excellence would naturally make us humble. What have 
we done? What are we doing? 

The mighty influx of spirit power now inundating the 
planet, will, in the fullness of time, bring all humanity under 
its divine influence. It is the " beginning of the end," fore- 
told by ancient seers — the end of the old in religious thought, 
the end of oppression and wrong, the end of the retarding in- 
fluences that have so long bound the souls of men in bonds of 
error and superstition. The glory of the " new heavens and 
the new earth," spoken of by John in the Apocalypse, is about 
to be revealed to the sons of men —is even now breaking up- 
on the wondering vision of thousands of earth's children. 
"Hosannah to the Lord in the highest — peace on earth — good 
will to men." 



204 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

A CONSTANT STRUGGLE. 



Life, with many, is a constant struggle ; and yet is not that 
very struggle just the kind of experience needed to bring forth 
the richest fruits of the spirit? As bodily exercise makes the 
muscles strong, so does the push and effort necessary to over- 
come obstacles in material things give to the spirit the vigor 
and strength it needs. Some people think because they have- 
not prospered in worldly ways — have not accumulated wealth, 
or may even have failed in business — that they are necessarily fail- 
ures as men and women ; when the fact may be that they have 
won grand victories over themselves — that they have come off 
conquerors over many things, and have made for themselves a 
karma that shall be white and lustrous with the glow of divine 
love and light in the " world beyond the river." Human judg- 
ment is fallible — our plans, in worldly mattters, may fail, and 
our ships return to us empty laden; but what of that? Are 
we to be blamed because the harvest we hoped to reap was 
blighted, or the worthy venture upon which we risked our all 
proved a failure ? There is a fruition richer by far than argo- 
sies of treasure, and that is the harvest of soul. 



" POOR FELLOW 



We heartily concur with the dramatist who said, "Fools- 
are they who seek for happiness and pass by love in the pur- 
suit." The unmarried man is more or less selfish, especially 
if he is able to maintain a home, and capable of making some 
good woman happy. He spends his days in the keen pursuit 
of trade, and his nights in a more or less destructive form of 
dissipation at his club, and, ere long, his kidneys go back on 
him, and "the wheel at the fountain is still." No loving wife 
bends over him with a farewell kiss ; no children join the regu- 
lation procession that follows his remains to the grave. " Poor 
fellow ! we shall miss him at the club," spoken between drinks, 
by some fellow bachelor, is the nearest approach to a sigh of 



DISTRUST. 205 

regret at his departure. The Club is a monstrous carbuncle 
on the neck of society. In fact, any form of social life whence 
woman is excluded, is unnatural and wicked. The man who 
goes through life unmarried, unloving and unloved, misses, by 
an infinite waste of barren years, the road to true happiness. 



DISTRUST. 



The very worst condition of mind that one can bring, 
himself into is that of general distrust — that is, to doubt the 
honor and honesty of every one with whom he is brought into 
business or social relations. Of course it is well to be cau- 
tious against indiscriminate confidence in people one doesn't 
know, but we hold that if one will endeavor to cultivate his 
intuitive faculties — his sixth sense — he will not be apt to be 
deceived. Besides, it is better to be deceived occasionally 
than to lose faith in our fellow-beings. We should look on the 
bright side of life, and recognize the good there is in all. Only 
thus can we best aid the erring up the steeps of life, and at 
the same time bring our own spirits into the best condition for 
healthy growth and unfoldment. 



CENTRAL POINT OF TWO ETERNITIES. 



Which is the most to man's credit — to come down from 
an angel by some moral cataclysm, like that mentioned in the 
Mosaic fable of creation ; or come up from some type of an- 
thropoidal ape, in accordance with Darwin's theory of devel- 
opment ? The latter process is the only one consistent with 
the idea of Immutable Law, or of that Infinite Energy that is 
ever pushing upward through matter towards perfection. It is 
alike creditable to man and his Creator that he should ascend 
the scale of being — alike discreditable to both that he should 
make a pitiable failure of himself, after once having been sent 
forth perfect from the hand of Infinite Perfection. As com- 
pared with his barbaric ancestors man has everything to en- 



-2o6 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

-courage him ; but as compared with the Mosaic fable of crea- 
tion, the outlook for him is far from hopeful. We prefer the 
more rational theory, and hold that man is the central point 
of two eternities — of the past, up which he has climbed from 
an impulse of Divinity ; and of the future, toward which he is 
steadily moving forward in the highway of eternal progression. 

ADJUSTMENT TO NATURE. 



Throughout the universe harmony is the rule, inharmony 
the exception. The cyclone that sweeps the earth, leaving 
death and desolation in its path; the earthquake that rocks 
the foundations of the mountains, burying cities in its awful 
throes; the "pestilence that walketh by noonday;" war, famine, 
and even death itself, are all efforts of the intelligent forces of 
the universe to bring about that harmony which Nature will 
have at any cost. Man, in discord with the higher purposes 
of his being — out of tune with the divine life, — is a moral 
cyclone, a devastating pestilence. He is war and famine — 
the Satan of the Old Testament. But once adjusted to the 
grand diapason of Nature, he gives forth melody divine in 
-every thought and action. 

How often do we find those living in the slums seeking to 
•drag their fellows down to their level. Such people are in 
much greater need of pity than those whom they would tra- 
duce. Whoever lives a clean and correct life need have no 
fear of false tongues. He is clad in the armor of truth, against 
which the shafts of malice and ignorance fall in vain. 

* * 

The invisible ether around about us is threaded with spiritual 
currents, connecting our own spirits with the outlying world of 
spirit forces in the universe — with all that is good, if we will, 
or all that is ill — currents that bring us into harmony with the 
life of all divinity, or into fierce discord with the shapes and 
shadows of moral death. If we would be well in body and 



THE CHURCH OF ROME. 207 

mind, if we would dwell in harmony with our own souls, we 

must find these higher and purer currents and float upon their 

crystal surface into the beautiful harbor of rest to which they 

lead. 

§o§ 

THE CHURCH OF ROME. 



The only Church now in existence that clings blindly to 
the past, with no attempt or intention to allow its communicants 
to think independently upon religious things, is the Roman 
Catholic, and the creed of that Church is simply crystallized 
igrorance enthroned in the Pope. If you are a good Catholic 
you must accept the interpretations of the Church in all relig- 
ious matters from alpha to omega ; no matter how inconsistent 
with facts or abhorrent to enlightened reason, you are not 
allowed to entertain a questioning opinion. It is only by this 
ex cathedra enforcement of its dogmas that the Church of Rome 
is able to subject to its domination the ignorant masses with 
which its membership is mainly composed. Such domination 
is no doubt better for many persons than no sense of moral or 
religious accountability at all. In fact, it would hardly be wise, 
in any enlightened community, for the priest to release the strong 
grip he holds upon the consciences of a multitude of men and 
women. Hence, as much as we disclaim all censorship or 
domination of religious opinion in ourselves, we are entirely 
willing to see such domination forced upon others — upon all 
who need such restraints and checks upon their undeveloped 
spiritual natures. Until one can walk alone without trenching 
upon the rights of others, he must be held by the restraints of 
the law, or the shackles of the Church. Therefore, before we 
would pull down the Church, we should build up the man. 

In the higher life of the soul there are delights that are 
never dreamed of by the mortal mind — a realm where the in- 
flowing tide of inspiration lifts one above the plane of sensuous 



2o8 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

things, and the spirit bathes in the scintillant glory of the 
Divine Life. Would you live in this realm, enjoy these super- 
nal joys, live your best in thought and action, and it will surely 
come to you. 

* •* 

Let no one imagine that all believers in psychic phenom- 
ena can be trained to think alike in aught except the bare fact 
of spirit existence and return. The mind is naturally prolific 
in theories and speculations, and will indulge therein say what 
we may. The trouble with many Spiritualists is that they are 
so wrapped up in their own vagaries that they have no tolera- 
tion for the vagaries of others. 

To accomplish the best work in any line of art or genius 
— in painting, sculpture, invention, poetry or music — the gifted 
one must lift his soul far above the jingle of gold, and hold 
himself close to the heart of his divine inspiration. The 
remuneration will surely come with his success — as a natural 
sequence thereof, but not as the inspiring cause. Would that 
we could impress this thought upon the minds of all gifted 
instruments for the manifestation of spirit power. 

We can live like unhatched chickens, in the shell, as 
many do, or we can come forth into that larger life of the 
spirit which is our birthright. The former condition is the 
childhood of the spirit, the realm of small thoughts and small 
things. Ought we not to rise out of this realm, and learn to 
think grandly, and to live grandly — not in a material sense, 
but in the grandeur of a noble life and high aspirations? 
There be many kings and priests of the Most High who never 
lived in earthly palaces. 

* * 

There is no buying nor selling in the land "beyond the 
river." The mind schooled in the ways and tricks of trade 
and but little else, in this life, will there have to begin with 



BEFORE THEIR TIME. 2O9 

the spiritual alphabet, and take its place in the infant class. 
What advantage can it be to the spirit to be skilled in the 
things of earth for which it will have no use in spirit life ? 
It will have use for all its love, all its generosity, all its purity, 
all its nobility of character,. all its unselfishness — but all that 
is of the earth earthy it will leave behind. 

+ o+ 

BEFORE THEIR TIME. 



How many people die before their time — that is, at or 
before middle age — passing on to the other life without the full 
measure of earth experience necessary for their work and 
development on the spiritual plane of life. Most men live too 
fast — business men especially. Excitement, worry, late hours, 
sleepless nights, alcoholic stimulation, etc., all more or less 
incident to that greed for gain which seems to be a part of our 
competitive system, soon consume the taper of life, and they 
pass on to the other stage of existence before they have lived 
out one-half their years. And what do they gain? What does 
any one gain who devotes every energy of his life to the acqui- 
sition of that which, when attained, he is obliged to leave to 
others, perhaps to gratify the follies and vanities of thankless 
heirs? 



WEALTHY BACHELORS. 



Oh, the abominable selfishness of a wealthy bachelor's 
life ! The man who could, if he would, make some good 
woman happy and establish a beautiful home, with children to 
gladden their lives. But this would cost money — money to 
be expended upon some one else than himself ; and so he 
drifts about like the butterfly, from flower to flower, enjoying 
the pleasant and refining society of good women often, with- 
out any expense to himself for their board and clothing ! Such 
men stand wofully in their own light. They are building their 
house upon the sand, with no foundation of love to suppor*. 



2IO SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

when the storms of sickness and adversity come. The years 
glide away all too soon for their earthly pride ; old age creeps 
upon them, and ere long the shadow and gloom of the grave 
fall across their paths. Death at last claims them for his own, 
and they glide out upon the silent river from the care of some 
hired nurse who wonders where he shall find another job. How 
different the departure of one from some happy home from 
the fond arms of a gentle wife to close his eyelids in death 
with her soft, caressing hands. 

MAN'S KEAL WORTH. 



Some one has said that a man's real worth in the world 
is simply that of the business he follows. Gauged by this 
standard, which we are inclined to think is a just one, what is 
the rum-seller worth, or the gambler, or the stockbroker, or the 
usurer, or the professional base-ball player ? What is the 
worth of the fashionable woman, who spends her time and 
substance in fashion's follies, and in a selfish gratification of 
her love for finery and display? What is the young man 
worth who is squandering the fortune left him by an indul- 
gent father in idleness and dissipation ? These are the ques- 
tions which Conscience, the great Judge, will ask of every 
soul, as it knocks for admittance at the gate of the City Celes- 
tial : What use did you make of yourself on earth ? How 
have you profited by your opportunities ? It might be well, 
dear reader, for you to ask these questions of yourself now, 
and if you cannot answer them satisfactorily, perhaps you may 
be able to further on. 



These temples of the spirit, through which the soul finds 
expression, how important it is that they be wisely cared for. 
To abuse the body with strong drink, or tobacco, or the 
gratification of any base appetite, or by riotous living, all tends 
to deprive the instrument of its fineness of tone, and obscure 



THIS OLD EARTH OF OURS. 2 1 I 

the light of the soul shining through it. To abuse the body is: 
to trample upon the soul, and hasten the time of its release, all 
unprepared. Good hours, cleanliness, careful diet, temperance 
in all things — these are all essential to a well-ordered life, and 
the highest possible degree of spiritual unfoldment. 

THIS OLD EARTH OF OURS. 



A kind mother, a lavish and bounteous friend, is this old, 
old earth of ours. She spreads out her banquet of rare viands 
and luscious fruits, she unlocks her treasures of gold and silver, 
and precious stones, and invites man to draw near and help 
himself. She wafts his ships across mighty wastes of sea, with 
the magic of her breath, pointing the way they should go with 
a spirit wand ; she lends him the couriers of the skies for his 
messengers ; she gives him, in brief, unstintedly of herself — of 
the melody of her birds and brooks, of the beauty and fra- 
grance of her flowers, of the grandeur of her starry nights, 
— and when at last, like a child wearied with its play, he would 
seek for rest, she takes him in her loving arms and coddles 
him to sleep upon her bosom. 



HOME WHERE LOVE IS NOT. 



A home where love is not — where in the wide world can 
one find a more dreary place? Hearts that ache for sympathy 
and find it not — that ask for bread and receive a stone, — God 
pity them ! Better that they go their separate ways, and never 
more rest under the same roof. And yet, in married life, how 
many unloved wives, and indifferent and unfaithful husbands, 
may be found ; and children grow up in the atmosphere of such 
homes, all unbalanced and out of harmony with their own 
higher natures, to add to the world's woe ! It is indeed pitiful. 
But what can be expected when marriage is made a thing of 
passional impulse, as it too often is, and not of those higher 
spiritual and intellectual attractions, which alone are lasting and 



2 I 2 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

permanent. Love, founded in the higher nature, and on 
mutual attraction of spirit, will survive the disintegrating 
processes of time, and grow brighter and sweeter with the 
years. Only those between whom such love exists has God 
truly joined together 

§o§ 

Can you realize, dear reader, how swift is the flight of 
time — we mean you who have crossed the meridian line, and 
nave seen what the world is disposed to call your " best days ?" 
Your best days should be your last days — your days of fruition 
— your days of ripe experience, of treasured memories. The 
earth is fading away. You are nearing the silent river, beyond 
which bloom the evergreen shores of immortal life. You 
must soon bid good-bye to earth — soon must part with all 

earthly possessions. Are you ready for the summons? 

* 
* * 

The seance for spiritual communion should be sacred to the 

purest thoughts and the highest aspirations of the soul. Every 

member of the circle should draw near as to an altar dedicated 

to the living God. Not that one should enter into this holy of 

"holies with a long visage, or a heart draped in black ; but one 

should draw near in the sweet passivity of a cheerful spirit, 

"bright with the sunshine of hope and joy. It is thus that the 

good angels can draw nearest to our hearts, and both mortal 

and spirit receive a baptism of the divine life. 

It is never a disgrace, however humiliating it may be, to be 
•deceived. The more honest one is himself, the more honesty 
"he is apt to see in his fellows. Hence, those good, honest 
Spiritualists who have witnessed the cruel deceptions practiced 
in public materializing circles, mixed up, it may be, with here 
and there a few grains of truth, are not to be blamed. They 
can hardly be made to realize that men and women, whom 
they have long known and esteemed, could so dishonor them 



SELF RESPECT. 2I3 

-selves as to trifle with such sacred things. The psychic form 
is all the more beautiful when produced in the atmosphere and 
harmony of the home circle. There let it remain for the 
present. 

SELF RESPECT. 






It is a rule that he who would be respected must first re- 
spect himself. The same is true in a larger or community sense. 
There are thousands of excellent people in the world, in and 
out of the churches, who believe in the fundamental truths of 
Spiritualism. They are mediums for the spirits themselves, or 
have mediumship in their families. They know that their 
loved ones who have passed on are not dead, but that they 
live and love them still, and that they can and do come to 
them when conditions are favorable. But they would not for 
the world be regarded as Spiritualists, nor have it known that 
they are subject to spirit influences. We can not blame them, 
when we consider how very little many Spiritualists respect 
their own cause. With the solution of the grandest problem 
•of the universe in their hands — a truth that eclipses conception 
with its mighty results — they stand around and do little or 
nothing to command the respect of the world. Shall we blame 
the world when it reviles? 



Who would not rather pass on to the other life in a flush 
•of glory, by making his last act some crowning impulse of 
grandeur and divine self-abnegation, than die with coffers dis- 
tended with unused wealth, to corrupt ungrateful heirs, and fill 
the heart of the owner with sadness in the Infinite Beyond. 

# * 

What spirit, manifesting through mortal mediumship, ever 
taught other doctrine than that embodied in the Golden 
Rule ? There are those, it is true, who sometimes come to us, 
bringing back a bad earthly condition — spirits who have not yet 



214 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

learned the better way — but by kindness and good advice they 
are generally found to be yielding and submissive to the divine 
law of unfoldment, and are soon made to recognize their rela- 
tionship to the Infinite Spirit. All spirits who are allowed to 
come to us as teachers, invaribly hold up to us the highest 
standards of morality. They teach purity of life and conduct, 
and endeavor in all possible ways to lead us upward into the 
light of all goodness and truth. 

WHAT CHANGES HAVE COME. 



What a change has come over the world since, for the 
amusement of his debased subjects, Nero fed his hungry lions 
on the humble followers of Jesus. The taste that could find 
satisfaction in such a cruel spectacle was akin to that of the 
ravenous beasts that fought and struggled in the awful carnage. 
The world, to-day, possesses no type of humanity so low as to 
tolerate such cruelties, which clearly shows the upward trend 
of the human race. It is only by contrasting great lapses of 
time that this fact is made prominent. Thus are we made to 
recognize the great truth of man's development from lower 
types of human life, and by which we may logically infer his 
ascent from the primordial cell, through vast gradations of 
animal life to his present high estate. In all this chain of un- 
foldment we can discover no " missing link " — no break in. 
God's eternal purpose in human progress. Surely, but slowly, 
the world is growing better. 



One can not judge of the tree by the fungus growth upon- 
its bark, nor of the sea by the debris cast upon the shore ; 
neither can one judge of Spiritualism by the excrescences that 
sometimes appear upon its surface. There are depths on 
depths of grandeur, purity, and beauty in Spiritualism that the 
world knows not of, and which can never be inferred from the 
lives and conduct of some who claim to be its champions. It 



FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE. 21 5 

is a plant that thrives best in the soil of a harmonious home. 
There to many lives it is a most precious thing, full of all 
beauty and freshness, and ever exhaling sweetest fragrance. 

FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE. 



In the Church we are asked and required to believe by 
faith, and without proof, in what Spiritualists claim they are 
able to prove, viz., the continued existence, upon another plane 
of life, of the spirit of man as an individualized, conscious 
entity. Now faith and knowledge are naturally antagonistic to 
each other. In fact, they can not long run in parallel lines 
without converging towards a point of common unity. Faith 
is a phantom of ignorance that disappears in knowledge. No 
one will be contented with a belief in a future life by faith, 
when he once learns that a positive knowledge of the fact 
is within his reach. And so a multitude of good, religious 
people in the churches are corning to a knowledge of the truth, 
through the unfoldments and manifestations of the spirit in 
their own homes and lives, as well as through the "gifts of 
the spirit " in other ways. 



b' 



The man who sees only the good there is in his fellow 
beings, making no note of their weaknesses or failings, may be 
deceived and wronged many times and in many ways — he may 
die in poverty, unhonored and unknown, — yet we would like 
to be in his place when he wakes in the morning of his 
ressurection to life eternal it the spirit world. 

Be of good cheer, fellow traveler on life's journey ! Know 
ye not that it is only when your own spirit is full of sunshine 
that your angel friends can draw nearest to aid you and lead 
you out of trouble ? It not only does no good to worry and 
fret over disappointments and troubles that one can not avoid, 
but it does positive harm, in that it shuts one out from the 



2l6 SPIRITUAL FRAGxMENTS. 

possibility of that help that might come to one through the 
spirit. It may require much discipline of the mind to overcome 
the tendency to worry over what goes wrong. But how to 
obtain that discipline and mastery over one's self generally, 

should be the study of every soul. 

* 

# * 

The French language has no word that corresponds with 
the dear old Saxon word, home ; and France is a country 
where home, in its sweet American significance, is unknown. 
He misses one of the dearest charms of -life, who lives, though 
it be never so grandly, without a home. How pure the joys 
and rare the delights, that cluster around the home. It is not 
home where one sleeps, or eats his meals, unless one's heart is 
in the place ; and what heart ever went into a restaurant or 
lodging house ! The virtuous home is the foundation of the 
Republic, the bulwark of orderly society, the stepping stone to 
heaven. 

All who believe in the Bible, believe that Moses and Eiias 
materialized on the Mount of Transfiguration; they believe 
also that on many occasions spirits appeared to mortals, and 
that even Christ himself came to his disciples and was recognized 
by them. Now, if communion with spirits is wrong, why did 
not Jesus warn his disciples against it ? And why did he do 
that which, if wrong, he would have condemned in others? 
Will not some of our Christian ministers answer this question? 

* * 

The plowshare that remains inactive in the soil becomes 

corroded with rust. So it is with the spirit that rests inactive 
in the soil of the world's needs. We can grow and keep the 
spirit bright only by constant use of our faculties. It is not 
well to become corroded in our sympathies or charities, for 
thus we die before our time. There are too many dead people 
in the world — dead in all save the mere breath of life — waiting 
to be buried. 



THE SWEET BY AND BY. 217 

THE SWEET BY ANI) BY. 



" The sweet By and by !" How many a time and oft 
have the words, "There's a land that is fairer than day," been 
sung to the air of " Sweet By-and-by," by those who would 
draw near the invisible world, while their loved ones on the other 
side moved aside the vail to greet their idols still on the shores of 
mortal life. There is a world of comfort in that familiar song, 
when sung by the true Spiritualist. He knows something of 
that land so fair, knows that it is a reflex of the beautiful 
places of earth. He knows if he makes the best use of him- 
self here, that when the trials and struggles of this life are 
over, he will pass on to his " dwelling place there," a home amid 
beautiful surroundings, and a landscape as real and tangible to 
the spirit senses as this earth is to these tenements of clay. 
Hence, the Spiritualist can sing that song as no one else can, 
for the words mean something to him. Herein he finds a 
comfort and a strength that the world knows not of. 



Listen, ye heavy hearted and sorrowing, ye weary and 
o'erburdened souls ! Know ye not there is a needed discipline 
in your trials ; and the time will come when you would not for 
worlds part with a single pang your hearts have ever known, or 
a tear your eyes have shed. It is only through fierce heat that 
the dross is burnt away, and the pure gold left in the crucible. 
You are the gold in God's crucible. Let him temper you as 
He will. 






You cannot detract from the value of gold by discovering 
and disclosing the spurious coin. The gold remains un- 
changeable forever. It survives the furnace heat, and re. 
tains the quality of its undimmed lustre through all mutations 
of the chemist's art. It is only the false that fails and disap- 
pears in the crucible. The truth lives forever, and grows 
brighter with the ages. 



2l8 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

The frailties of poor human nature ought not to be paraded 
before the world, to poison the moral atmosphere, and deaden 
the sensibilities of the good and pure. If one finds a dead 
dog upon his premises, were it not better and wiser to bury it 
than to drag it through the streets? Spiritualists expose their 
sores ; other religionists cover theirs from public gaze. In that 
we think that they are wiser than we. 

THE VOICE OF NATURE. 



The voice of many-tongued Nature, ever pleading with 
man, is an invitation to " come up higher." She presents him 
everywhere in the material world, lessons of infinite beauty, 
harmony and perfection. She gives to him a wonderfully del- 
icate and intricate machine, through which he may express 
himself on this external plane of being, and she warns him by 
terrible penalties not to misuse it. She paints the lily for him 
as a symbol of purity for him to imitate in the whiteness of 
his own life. She unfolds to him the wonder and glory of 
the universe to lead his thoughts upward and outward from 
the littleness of himself to the greatness and majesty of that 
infinite power and unity that we call God. She would ever 
lead him by the hand, as a parent would lead a loved child, 
into the ways of wisdom, goodness, and truth. Who would 
go through life heedless of her higher teachings, "builds his 
house upon the sand." 

Storms, in the physical world, clear and purify the atmos- 
phere. What though the fierce lightnings lash the heavens at 
times, and the mad cyclone toys with the habitations of men. 
There is, no doubt, a purpose in it all ; although not always 
apparent to the finite understanding. So it is doubtless with 
spiritual things. Great excitements and commotions are neces- 
sary to obliterate evil and fit the spirit for clearer perceptions 
of truth. The soul that lies at anchor within the land-locked 
harbor of truth, fears not the storm without. 



POWER OF WEALTH. 219 

POWER OF WEALTH. 



The power of wealth is most strikingly illustrated in the 
case of that New York lady, who is said to be the "richest 
woman in America," of whom the papers make occasional 
mention. With thirty millions of dollars worth of securities 
in her possession, the accumulations of which are constantly 
and rapidly increasing, she nevertheless lives so meanly as to 
almost deny herself the common necessities of life. She has 
no thought of the great world around her, except that of how 
it may be utilized to increase her stores. She never performs 
a generous act — never gives heed to the plaint of suffering 
humanity. With a mighty power in her hands for good, she is 
going down to the grave, and her spirit out into the other life, 
with the good she could do all undone. Could there be a 
bieggar in the world poorer than this poor woman ? What read- 
er of the Golden Gate would exchange his condition for her 
wealth and her spirit ? 

+°+ 

There is no monoply, or close corporation, of spiritual 
gifts. There is scarcely a man, woman, or child, to whom 
some phase of spiritual manifestation is not possible. In fact, 
the very best mediums are t often found in private life, who 
would no more think of making a commerce of their gifts than 
they would of selling the sunshine of an encouraging word to 
a sorrowing soul. And yet we know that whoever must live by 
his gifts must be paid therefor. We would not oppose paid 
mediumship, but we would most earnestly encourage the 
development of mediumship in the home circle. 

* 
* # 

"Destroy my belief in the possibility of the psychic 

form," says one, "and I have no further use for Spiritualism.'' 

How barren and empty of spirituality the nature must be that 

finds nothing in the intellectual evidences of another life to 

console him — nothing in the other and varied sensuous mani- 



2 20 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

Testations of psychic power given in the light, and under con- 
ditions impossible of deception. But he need not surrender 
his belief in materialization, for it is a stupendous fact, all the 
same. And the way is preparing for its manifestation, to those- 
who are prepared to accept it, under conditions far removed 
from every doubt. Let no Spiritualist become discouraged.. 
None will who ktwws the truth. 

* * 

Spiritualism has suffered more from the public materiali- 
zation seance — from the antagonism and suspicion of deception 
it has aroused — than from all other causes combined. The 
manifestation of the psychic form, as at present produced, is 
not for the 'skeptic ; and until such time as the element of 
darkness can be eliminated from the materializing seance, 
and it can be held under conditions that can challenge skepti- 
cism, it should be confined to the laboratory of the spiritual 
scientist, for private investigation and experiment. There are 
many places where this phenomenon can be developed and 
studied to advantage ; but it is not in the promiscuous public 
seance. Spiritualists should refuse to patronize such seances. 

Man should never lose faith in himself, or his fellow man,, 
nor in the principle of eternal Love and Justice that domin- 
ates the universe. No matter what calamities may befall him 
or what wrongs may prevail around him, he must still hold 
fast to the unchanging fact, that the trend of humanity is ever 
upward, and that right is the outcome of all the moral forces 
working through the human race. Error is but the friction of 
the machinery, not yet wisely adapted part to part. But this- 
will disappear as man evolves a higher spirituality, and learns 
the lessons written in his own soul, by the hand of Infinite 
Truth. 

What matters it whether man is the result of one embodi- 
ment or one hundred ? If we ever return to this planet for 



AMENDING THEIR CREEDS. 221 



further experiences in the mortal, it will no doubt be for our 
good. However, but one embodiment at a time is all that 
should concern us, and how to find the highest and best ex- 
pression therein. 



AMENDING THEIR CREEDS. 



Would you pull down the churches ? Not at all. We would 
amend their creeds, and make them vastly more potent for 
good than now. The fatal mistake of ecclesiasticism is its 
Procrustean bedstead of creed, established in the comparative 
infancy of the race, and which is made irrevocable. This 
creed makes no provision for intellectual growth, none for 
the revelations of science and none for the more rational 
demands of man's spiritual nature. The human race can 
not be bound to the past forever. It has long since 
begun to exploiter new fields of thought. It has made discov- 
eries that cannot be adjusted to the religious teachings of the 
church. It demands a new statement of facts and principles. 
And this the church will be compelled to make, or its Doc- 
tors of Divinity will, ere long, find themselves preaching to 
empty pews. Truth will not suffer by stripping it of its husks, 
neither will true religion suffer by divesting it of its crudities 
and adapting it to man's advancing spiritual nature. 

LIFT UP YOUR HEADS. 



Lift up your heads and rejoice, O ye struggling and sor- 
rowing ones of earth ! Though the night has been long and 
dark, see ye not the roseate tints of the coming day — the day 
that shall dispel all shadows and shapes of woe, and usher you 
into a condition of life where honest merit shall have its fair 
share of all things necessary for the soul's happiness ? What 
if misfortune and poverty have been your lot, remember they 
are only for a brief season ; and especially should you encour- 
age the thought that in no sense is your true self made richer 



222 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

or poorer by your earthly conditions, and that the only wealth 
that will last is the sterling wealth of character, which the 
poor may haye as well as the rich, and frequently in greater 
abundance. Then let the world wag on ; do your best ; an 
archangel could do no more. 



INGEKSOLL. 



The spiritual life of the world is in no danger from in- 
fidelity or atheism. There would be just as much Christ in 
the world — that is, the Christ spirit — if there were a hundred 
Ingersolls where there is now but one. In fact, there is no 
broader humanity taught, no better lessons of brotherly love 
and duty than those taught by Ingersoll himself. Belief is in 
no sense essential to goodness. Indeed, the history of the 
Church abundantly shows that belief has been the basis of 
wrongs and wickedness untold. There is no goodness that is 
not of God, and goodness is the common property of mankind. 
There are but few hearts in which the Christ spirit reigns more 
supremely than in the heart of Robert G. Ingersoll. The 
•church will yet come to accept the grand truth that he is the 
truest disciple of Christ who best loves his fellow men. 

A GOOD WIFE. 



A good wife ! What a wealth of joy is embodied in the 
thought. To feel that though friends forsake, and all the 
world turn against you, she will stand by you to the end, ever 
ready to shield and comfort you with a love that is stronger 
than the love of life — a faith that will outlive death ! What 
rapture of infinite love — what pleasure of all the delights of 
heaven, can excel this ! We know such an one (there are no 
doubt many such), whose bright intellect, highly unfolded 
spirit and wealth of all that good men most prize in woman, all 
combine to make a queen among her sex ; and yet so free from 
assumption of especial merit is she, — from all ostentatious dis- 



SIGNS AND WONDERS. 223 

play of her royal gifts and graces — that the lowliest of God's 
children can ever find in her a wise counsellor and a gentle 
friend. Her intuition, in the work in which she and her com- 
panion are mutually engaged is always unerring, and ever she is pa- 
tiently and trustingly leading the way to higher and better views 
of life and duty. We say, we know such an one, — and she is 
not far away ! 

SIGNS AND WONDERS. 



When the Master was on earth He said that certain "signs 
and wonders" should follow those that believe, and that greater 
things than He did should they do. He evidently meant what 
He said. But what are the "signs and wonders" that attend 
those who pretend to " believe," in these later ages of Chris- 
tianity? Do they heal the sick by the laying on of hands? 
Are they superior to the deadly effects of poison ? Not at all. 
Then how can they be His disciples? The marvelous phe- 
nomena attending the manifestation of the spirit, under the 
name of modern Spiritualism, seem to be a literal fulfillment 
of the great Teacher's predictions, in many things. Out of the 
mouths of babes many truths are spoken, and they are made 
to speak and write in languages whereof they have no knowl- 
edge. The sick are healed by spirit power, and many strange 
signs are given to teach man the true way of life. But only 
the wise are receptive to the truth. 

There is an assurance, an abiding comfort and confidence 
in a knowledge of spirit existence and communion as enjoyed 
by all true Spiritualists, that no faith in things unseen and un- 
known can possibly give. To the true Spiritualist the dark 
problem of the grave has been solved. For him the future 
has no terror, and he is reconciled to bear the burdens of life 
patiently, knowing that thereby he is the better preparing him- 
self for his home in spirit life, and for the companionship of 
loved ones gone before. 



224 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

THE HIGHEST GOOD. 



The problem of life — how best to attain the highest good 
— is one that concerns us all. The young man or woman just 
coming on the stage of action, with bright hopes and high 
aspirations, is brought face to to face with strange and abnormal 
conditions of life and labor ; with systems of religious thought, 
founded on ancient superstitions, that are at utter variance with 
all the known principles and laws that dominate the universe ; 
with inconsistencies in law and human government ; with error 
and ignorance of every form. Is it any wonder that he falters and 
stumbles? He needs a new creed, founded on common sense, 
and consistent with his own constitution. He needs to feel 
that he is One with the All Good, and that his first and highest 
duty is to adjust himself to the universe of which he is a part, 
and in harmony with which only can he find happiness. 
Thus adjusted and harmonized, he becomes a mighty power for 
the correction of the errors and evils which confront him on every 
hand. 



A SETTLED FACT. 



One clearly established fact of the 'manifestation of an 
independent spirit intelligence, settles the question, with any 
honest mind, of continued existence of the spirit of man be- 
yond the change called death. Every careful investigator of 
our phenomena has had proof upon proof of spirit existence, 
and that such existences are the spirits of human beings who 
once lived upon the earth. To millions of intelligent people, 
including many of the brightest minds the world has yet pro- 
duced — scientists, scholars, statesmen — men in all walks of 
life — the central truths of spirit existence, and the power of 
the same persons we have known on earth to return, under 
proper conditions, and communicate with mortals, is quite as 
much of a settled fact as is that of their own existence. And 
what do these returning spirits all teach us ? That life is pro- 



PROPER EDUCATION. 225 

gressive forever ; that man must answer for his own sins ; that 
there is no endless hell and no vicarious atonement for sin ; 
that each one must work out his own salvation, either in this 
life or in the next ; that there is time enough and room enough 
for all ; that there is no greater Devil than ignorance, and no 
greater hell than man's undeveloped conscience ; that goodness 
brings its natural reward of happiness, and wickedness its 
natural penalty of suffering ; and that the whole plan of salva- 
tion lies in the simple act of ceasing to do evil and learning to 
do well. 

PROPER EDUCATION. 



Children need to be educated in spiritual knowledge and 
to grow into an understanding of our phenomenal facts. To 
such children the manifestations of spirit intelligence or power 
have no terror ; but they learn to enjoy them, and take delight 
in communing with their spirit friends. A little four-year-old 
mediumistic boy on being put to bed in a room by himself was 
told by his new nurse to have no fear as she would leave the 
door open. " I don't want the door left open," he said. But 
she left it open all the same. He then called to his mother, 
who knew the boy better, complaining, " Lizzie has left my 
door open and spoiled my dark circle." He had his little 
drum and other playthings upon his bed, and it was his custom 
after retiring, to have a romp with his little spirit playmates. 



"The days that are no more !" Days worse than wasted 
in the worls's unholy strifes, days of spiritual darkness and de- 
cay, days of sadness and despair ! Happy the spirit that has 
buried their memory forevermore and come forth into the 
light and life of the new day. For then it is that man begins 
to find his own soul. He begins to learn that all earthly ex- 
perience that does not add to his stature as a spiritual being 
is more or less hurtful, for the reason that it will, in the beyond, 
chain him to earth conditions when he should be mounting up- 



22 6 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

ward into the higher realms of being. How empty and profit- 
less will seem many things that engrossed our thoughts here, 
when we come to caste aside this house of clay. 

Scatter the seeds of truth wherever the fallow ground of 
the spirit is ready to receive them, but nowhere else. . There 
is no sort of use in thrusting our facts or philosophy upon 
people who will meet you with ignorant ridicule and abuse. 
They are "wedded to their idols." Time and circumstance 
are necessary to prepare their hearts for the good news, for the 
glorious gospel of intercommunion of the two worlds, and the 
beautiful lessons of love and duty that come to us from the 
higher planes of spirit life. Be patient, it will all come around 
right in due time. 

* * 

The "Robert Elsmeres," who, breaking away from the 
faith and teachings of their church, and yet failing to come 
under the bright light and beautiful philosophy of Spiritualism, 
are to be pitied. They are deserving of the tender sympathy 
of men and angels. It is as one who leaves the beaten way for 
the wilderness, and never quite passes out from its maze and 
shadows, into the "land flowing with milk and honey " beyond. 
There is no faith like knowledge, no trust like absolute posses- 
sion. Herein only is " rest for the weary." 

Any system of labor reform that does not strike at the 
liquor traffic, can not be otherwise than a beating of the empty 
air ; and yet the laboring classes themselves, who are the prin- 
cipal supporters of the saloons, are the last to join in a crusade 
against theirs and the world's common foe. 

Who lives for others lives in the truest sense for himself. 
Upon the crest of the wave of generous deeds man is borne 
heavenward. Who exalteth himself shall be humbled ; who 
exalteth his brother himself shall be exalted. 






ON TRIAL. 227 

ON TEIAL. 



Orthodoxy in all its essential claims, is on trial before the 
world. For centuries there were none to dispute; and even 
down to the last half century there were but few minds strong 
enough or brave enough to question its demands. The doc- 
trine of the Fall of Man, the infallibility of the Bible, the 
atonement, an eternity of happiness for those who believe, and 
endless punishment for those that do not, — these are now the 
central points of attack from the world's enlightened batteries- 
of thought. The outcome no enlightened mind can doubt — 
rationalism will triumph and ecclesiasticism be compelled 
to surrender its untenable dogmas. And what is there 
that good men should fear in the substitution in the uni- 
verse of a God of Love for one of implacable hate ? Is it 
not better for man to be taught that he cannot shirk the con- 
sequences of his acts, that he must pay the last farthing of his 
debt, than to believe that "Jesus paid it all?" And after all, 
is not goodness, nobility of soul, and uprightness of character 
the things to be sought for ? What has belief in the creeds of 
the churches to do with these qualities in man? 

to: 

We are all building for the future. Every generous act 
of our lives is a stone in the foundation of that edifice which 
shall constitute our abiding place in the beyond — not eternally, 
of course, but for how long we may not know. The character 
and durability of the edifice will depend upon the kind of 
material we put into it. If we live narrow, selfish lives, 
thoughtless of others' welfare, we are building a hut upon the 
sands, and not a palace of marble walls. Soon it will crumble 
away and leave the spirit shelterless. The pride and pomp of 
this life — wealth, station and honor — are nothing but rubbish, 
all to be rejected by the Divine Builder. In living our best 
for the future we have but to make the highest use of the 
present. 



228 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. 



The Bible says: "He who sheddeth man's blood, by man 
shall his blood be shed." The same book says : "Thou shalt 
not kill." How can the believers in the infallibility of this 
book reconcile these two passages? Hanging for murder is a 
a most brutal business at best. It does not bring back to life 
the person slain; it does not prevent the recurrence of murder : 
.and then it wastes a human being, which is not good morals, 
or good economy. To kill to preserve life is more a matter of 
policy than of morality. It is right, in a certain sense ; but it 
must be done at the moment, under the excitement of fear, or 
an impulse of justice. The cool, deliberate planning to take 
life for life, is quite another thing. Isn't it quite enough that 
the murderer should be deprived of his liberty for life? And 
then his services might be made available towards undoing, as 
far as possible, the great wrong committed, and at the same 
time he might obtain the necessary earth experience to best 
fit him for the life beyond. One wrong was never yet condoned 
by the commission of another. 

ZoX 

How beautiful is the morning of life, with its bright hopes, 
its bounding pulses, its glow and sparkle of joy ! How grand 
is middle life with its conscious power, its grandeur of intel- 
lect, its mighty play of forces ! But more beautiful and grand- 
er still is serene old age with its rich argosies of matured 
thought, its ripe experiences, and its bright anticipation of the 
life to come. How bright and happy is the home-coming to 
the wanderer in strange lands. And such is the thought of the 
home-going to the aged, whose soul ties are anchored on the 
thither shore. 

* * 

Until man can so school himself in spiritual knowledge — 
or attain to that spiritual unfoldment wherein he can think no 
ill of any mortal, however much he may have wronged him, is 



in wisdom's ways. 229 

lie wholly prepared to enter upon the higher life of the soul. 
Not that we should love our enemies, for that were impossible ; 
M we can excuse, and symyathize with, and pity them. We 
can do them gOod for ill. We can show them the better way 
•of life in our own life and conduct. We can exalt them by up- 
lifting ourselves. And this is one of the lessons of our beauti- 
ful Spiritualism — to bring man into nearness with the divine in 
liis oVn nature. This is to come under the dominion of Good, 
which is but another name for God. 

\ IN WISDOM'S WAYS. 



We know a bright young girl, tall and straight as an arrow, 
just entering upon the sober realities of life. Before her is 
unfolding the marvelous realities of mature womanhood, and 
the great, restless, uncertain world. Brave and strong of pur- 
pose, with footsteps firm and eyes peering into the realm 
of shadows that enshrouds her future, she moves steadily for- 
ward in the path of duty, guided by the pure light of a white, 
unsullied soul. What promise of gentle goodness she wears 
upon her forehead — what prophecy of hallowed womanhood 
beams in the depths of her lustrous brown eyes ! Bend low 
.sweet angels, and take her by the hand. Lead her through 
green pastures and by still waters. Touch her nature with the 
divine inspiration of goodness. Fill her soul with kind thoughts) 
and with gentle promptings to charity, and make her life 
to blossom with good deeds. What a life of grandeur and 
usefulness lies before every young woman, if she but wills 
vto walk in wisdom's ways ! 

— §o§ 

The acquisition of wealth may be to one person a means 
►of spiritual growth and unfoldment, while to another it may 
forge chains of steel that will bind the spirit for ages. It all 
depends upon the motive for its acquisition, and the uses it is 
put to when acquired. 



230 . SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

REASON. 



"Reason," says the matererialist, "is my only guide.'" 
And so he sets up reason as his God, and bows down before it, 
with all the devotion his nature is capable of. Now what is 
reason ? It is the uncertain and oftentimes misleading pro- 
cess whereby the intellect endeavors to arrive at truth. The 
highly unfolded spirit reaches truth by a shorter route. Let us 
illustrate : The writer once had some interesting experiments 
with a Mr. Hutchings, the man kown as the "lightning calcu- 
lator." We demonstrated beyond question, that he could write 
down instantly the sum total of long columns of figures, with- 
out the reasoning process of adding the figures together. His- 
spirit comprehended the result at once, and it was invariably 
correct. Man's reason is so warped by diverting influences, he 
reasons in so many lines and from such a variety of points,, 
that it is but a very poor guide at best. Intuition, when highly 
unfolded, as it may be, in what is known as the sixth sense, is 
a far more reliable guide. 

Is there anything more beautiful on earth than a happy 
home, a home pervaded by that delightful harmony, wherein 
the angels love to meet and dwell ? Such a one we dropped 
into a few evenings ago, together with a score or more of con- 
genial souls, to commemorate the birthday anniversary of the 
happy head of the household, — the birthday of one who is 
peacefully gliding down the stream of life, as it widens out to- 
wards the great ocean. Earth-life to him has been a success 
in many ways: certain it is that its evening sky is radiant with 
the purple and golden prophecy of a glad new day, that shall 
dawn for him and his dear companion sometime in the sweet 
by-and-by. 






True happinesss does not depend so much upon the intel- 
lect as upon the affections. In fact, the worse misery one can 
experience in this world is intellectual misery ; that is, the mis- 1 



NEW YEAR. 231 

ery that comes of a keen understanding of those things that 
conduce to unhappiness. Causes that would prompt some 
deeply sensitive persons to take their own lives, others, less 
acute to the agonies of unbridled thought, would treat as trifles. 
While it is always well to be sympathetic with those in affliction,. 
we should cultivate the faculty of deriving happiness even from 
our sympathies. In administering to the sorrows and sufferings 
of others, the spiritual soul can find a sort of melancholy joy. 

NEW YEAlt. 



A new year dawns upon the world. Brings it no lesson 
to humanity, no suggestion of spiritual help or unfoldment ? 
What argosies of soul-treasure has the year just closed brought 
to you, dear reader ? Have you profited by its lessons, become 
wiser through its experiences ? Has it broadened your nature, 
made you more liberal and kind, and exalted your views of 
life? Are you "nearer the Father's house," in its higher 
spiritual sense, than you " ever were before," or than you were 
one year ago ? If yea, then the new year will open to you 
radiant with hope and rich with spiritual possibilities. The 
new year should mean something more to us all than a mere 
boundary line of time. It should remind us that our days are 
rapidly gliding away, and that what we do in this earth experi- 
ence must be done quickly, for " to-morrow we die," or pass 
on to other scenes and experiences in the great drama of ex- 
istence. 



How many hearts there are in the world aching for a 
gentle word, and the sympathy of a loving thought — husbands, 
wives, children, brothers, sisters — living in the chilly atmos- 
phere of indifference to each other's presence, if not of chronic 
dislike. And thus this world, that should be full of sunshine 
and joy, is turned into a dismal abode, where all unpleasant 
and cruel things take root, and grow, and shed their malarious 
influence to poison the sweet springs of being. 



:j2 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

SHORTNESS OF MORTAL SIGHT. 



How short is mortal sight ! How narrow the range 
of human judgment ! No doubt it will be made apparent 
to every intelligent being sometime, that the niche he 
occupies in the universe is just the one for which he is best 
fitted, and for which he was especially created. This brings us 
to a recognition of the truth, that in a certain sense, " What- 
ever is, is right." If it were not so, then wrong is an elemental 
factor in creation, which cannot wisely be conceded. We 
come, in the process of intellectual unfoidment, to realize that 
many things that once seemed wrong to us now appear to be 
right. It was seemingly a cruel wrong, the betrayal and cruci- 
fixion of Jesus, but where would Christianity have been with- 
out such betrayal and crucifixion? If there were no sin in the 
world, what virtue would there be in overcoming evil with good, 
and where would be the inducement to a noble life ? 



HALLELUJAH OF GLADNESS. 



In the light of the Spiritual Philosophy, life should be made 
a perpetual hallelujah of gladness. "Sickness and sorrow, 
pain and death," that are such lugubrious subjects under the 
teachings of the old philosophies and theologies, are no longer 
regarded as such by those who have "entered the path," but 
they become useful spiritual helps and educators — valuable 
acquistions of experiences to take with us to the other life. 
We should learn to extract sunbeams from clouds, and joy 
even from sorrow. W T e imagine someone will say, "Can one 
be cheerful with the toothache ?" He surely will, if he realizes 
that a fretful and surly acceptance of the pain really aggravates 
it as it surely does. We may not all be mental scientists to the 
extent that a denial of the pain will drive it away, but we can 
all understand that a cheerful acceptance is certainly a great 
alleviator of suffering of any kind. It is a sort of flag of truce 
to meet the enemy half way with a view to compromise. 






CHURCH HISTORY. 233 

CHURCH HISTORY. 



Through what seas of blood, what Gethsemanes of mortal 
anguish, man has passed in his struggles for spiritual and in- 
tellectual freedom. The history of the church for ages, and 
down almost to the beginning of the present century, is a his- 
tory of terrible persecutions for opinion's sake. And yet was 
the church to blame ? Was it not rather the undeveloped 
spiritual and intellectual conditions of the race ? The church 
is an effect and not a cause. It is just what man makes it. In 
the dark ages it was the expression of his benighted spiritual 
nature, the same as it is now the expression of a higher spirit- 
ual unfoldment. We might as well quarrel with our own 
childhood, or with the barbaric conditions of our ancestry, as 
to waste our breath in berating the church for its past cruel- 
ties, or its present shortcomings. What we most need, as 
Spiritualists and Liberalists, is to turn our faces from a dead 
past to the front of the living present, and, guided by the star 
of Bethlehem that shines for all, follow it to the eternal Gate- 
way of Light. 



The strong owe a duty to the weak — the well to the sick. 
Our system of competitive industry gives to the strong in 
acquisitive wisdom the same advantage that the physically 
strong possess over the weak. We would, in the latter case, 
deny the right of the strong to trample upon the weak ; but 
we recognize and encourage the exercise of those powers and 
faculties that enable one man to dominate the labor and ac- 
quisitions of others to his own use. But this should not re- 
lease the latter from the responsibility and duty he owes to his 

weaker brother. 

* 

The seasons come and go — Winter and Spring with their 
wealth of flowers, and the hills and valleys robed in a mantle 
of green — Summer and Autumn with their golden harvests 



234 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

and luscious fruits, to gladden the hearts and homes of men — 
but with all her mutations, the old, old earth remains forever 
young. So it is with the immortal soul, attuned to the divine 
harmony of existence. There is no such thing as age to such 
a soul. It is ever unfolding and never losing its immortal 
freshness and beauty. It is the end of life to grow, and not 
to languish and die, spiritually. 

GET THE BEST. 



If you would get the best out of life, spiritually or physi- 
cally, you must learn to live in harmony with your own soul. 
Thereby you come into sympathy, or rather, your nature be- 
comes receptive to the spirit of the All Good. Once fully 
under the dominion of this spirit, the body can know no sick- 
ness, the spirit no real anguish. Peace, like a tidal wave of 
inspiration, will bear you ever on its sun-kissed crest, and all 
the heaven there is in God's universe will be yours. How, do 
you ask, can this state be attained ? By kind thoughts and 
generous actions ; by noble endeavor to do your best in all 
things ; by rendering good for ill — love for hatred ; and by 
constant aspiration for the interblending of the divine life with 
vour own. 



HOW TO INVESTIGATE PSYCHIC PHENOMENA. 



He who would investigate psychic phenomena to the best 
purpose, and the best results, should approach the subject with a 
passive and gentle spirit of earnestness and simplicity. The mind 
should be divested of all skepticism founded upon mere assump- 
tion of facts, or preconceived opinions of any kind. He should en- 
deavor to realize that Nature has her own ways and methods 
for the accomplishing of her ends, and that in these ways and 
methods she never consults mortal man, or stops to consider his 
opinions. In this spirit, and with an earnest desire for truth, he 
will find the spirit world alike earnest in its efforts to convince 



DELUSIONS. 235 

him of the truth of spirit existence and return. He must re- 
member that he cannot dictate or command the spirits in any 
way. Also, that they are eager to convince only those who 
are truly willing and ready to be convinced. 



DELUSIONS. 



To the man who has no knowledge of astronomy, the 
idea of the rotundity of the earth is a foolish delusion. Can't 
he see that, with the exception of the unevenness of the earth's 
surface, that it is flat ? Doesn't he know that if the earth 
"turned over" it would spill all the water out of the ocean? 
Should we deride him for his ignorance, or endeavor to en- 
lighten him as to his errors ? That is just where the great mass of 
mankind stand with regard to spiritual truth. The spirit-world 
is to them an undiscovered country, a great flat, resting, in a 
figurative sense, upon the backs of four elephants, etc., with 
the balance of the foundation not clearly denned ! That is 
the condition of most of our clerical defamers. 



LIBERALISM. 



We have no sympathy with that so-called Liberalism, that 
does nothing but deride and denounce the things which millions of 
other people are disposed to regard as sacred — the Liberalism 
which at the same time, does nothing itself for the uplifting of 
the race. The mighty charities of the church, misdirected 
and sometimes hurtful, as they no doubt are, are vastly more 
beneficial to those that practice them than is the practice of no 
charity at all. The church teaches its members to give, and 
they do it with a lavish hand, as the many costly church 
edifices of every large city bear witness ; while Liberalism with 
its multitudes of followers, gives nothing but emptiness to the 
world ; and its champions, save and except an occasional 
mighty genius like Ingersoll, are often obliged to go to bed 
hungry. 



236 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



FOOLISH PRIDE. 



How much misery might be averted in this world, if mart 
were freed from the slavery of the foolish pride that prompts 
him to excel his neighbor in those things that are in no wise 
essential to his true happiness. If A can afford to gratify ex- 
pensive tastes, and B cannot, it is not well for the latter to 
make himself unhappy deploring his depleted exchequer.. 
Neither is it wise in A to excite envy in the mind of his neigh- 
bor by an ostentatious display of his own advantages. We 
should seek to help each other along in the journey of life, 
ever remembering that at the station just ahead, where we 
shall all embark for the country Beyond, no factitious circum- 
stance of wealth or fame will count for aught in securing fav- 
orable accommodations. It will no doubt often be found 
there that "the first shall be last, and the last first." 



Who fails to get the best experiences out of this life,, 
misses a golden means of happiness in the next. And there 
is nothing that helps one to such experiences so much as a 
kind and thoughtful regard for the welfare of others. Who- 
takes no interest in his fellow men, but shuts himself up in his 
own shell, bent only on his own happiness, is making for him- 
self a condition — (a Karma, the Theosophist calls it) — that will 1 
be likely to cause him no little inconvenience in the life to 
come. It pays to be generous, to be manly, to be considerate 
of others, even in this life ; but vastly more in that land where 
character is the only passport to companionship with angels. 



If the infinite Creator made a mistake in the creation of 
man, as he must have done if the doctrine of the " fall of 
man " be true, then what becomes of the infallibility of the 
Creator? Is it not more creditable to both man and his 
Maker to believe that the former, through an infinite process 
of evolution, has come up from some lower but analogous type 



EVIL THOUGHTS. 



2 37 



of animal life to his present high condition, than that he was 
created " a little lower than the angels," but by disobedience 
fell from his high estate? There is some virtue in rising but 
surely none in falling. 



EYIU THOUGHTS. 



Evil thoughts sting and hurt the spirit whence they eman- 
ate, even more than they do the object towards which they are 
directed. We cannot think ill of anyone without connecting, 
ourselves, in a certain sense, with all the ill in the universe. 
We thereby place ourselves in the current, as it were, of un- 
friendly elements. We become receptive to evil influences, 
and to all that retards the growth and advancement of the 
spirit. The result is an inharmonious condition, often result- 
ing in sickness and premature death. We all ought to live to 
ripe old age, in the full possession of health to the last. That 
many do not, is no doubt mainly due to their ignorance of the 
laws of life and health. They drift unconsciously into these 
inhospitable currents, and suffer the ills thereof, without realiz- 
ing that they have the remedy in their own hands. 

GRAND MARCH. 



Fall in for the grand march of ideas ! Humanity is com- 
ing forth from the old, and emerging into the new. For cen- 
turies, man has been taught to think according to rule — to 
take his religion from labelled bottles, put up and sealed in 
the misty past by pious but unschooled religious apothecaries. 
Just as though he was not a progressive being, and that what 
was good for him in his infancy would be sufficient for him for 
all time. He has now reached a period of unfoldment wherein 
he must have a reason in and for his theology, and wherein he 
is no longer content with the childish fables and fairy stories, 
in the name of religion, that filled the needs of his infancy. 
Fall in, then, for the grand march of truth ! 



23® SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

ONE AVORLD AT A TIME. 



"One world at a time," says the Materialist. "Live while 
ye may, for to-morrow ye die." And by death they mean a 
•dreamless sleep — an unconscious cessation of being. If we 
live the true life — live for the attainment of the highest end 
of being — it doubtless matters little whether we believe in a 
future life or not. But the trouble is, it were almost if not 
•quite impossible to live our best with no broader outlook than 
that which bounds the limit of our mortal years. What to us 
are the woes of the world — what the plaints of the overbur- 
dened, "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" to the 
struggling ones — if our own paths are made smooth down to 
the vortex whence we must needs plunge into oblivion ! It is 
the something beyond "must give us pause." Hence, we 
would amend the Materialist's refrain by substituting, "Both 
worlds for all time and eternity. 

What would not the mother, bending over her dying 
babe, and prayerfully watching the fluttering away of its little 
'life, give to know, in very truth, that there were fond arms 
ready and waiting to enfold it to a loving heart, just over the 
line that separates the visible from the invisible — and that 
nightly, perhaps, when separated from its earthly body, it will 
be brought to her own seemingly empty arms, for the strength 
and nourishment necessary for its spiritual growth? What a 
comfort is this thought to all mothers who have found the 
truth. 

* # 

The mole burrows in the dark earth ; the owl and the 
bat come forth with the shades of night to seek their prey; — 
so the mind, beclouded in ignorance, and on evil bent, gropes 
in darkness, hiding from the light of the spirit that shines for 
all. Come forth, O brother man, into the light, and live to 
honor thy being — worthy of thy immortal destiny. 






GLORY OK FORGETFULNESS. 2 $9 

GLOKY OF FOKGETFULNESS. 



It is glorious to forget, when forgetfulness means the 
obliteration of unprofitable recollections. And such are the 
recollections of all things that destroy happiness, or retard the 
growth of the spirit. Has the world gone wrong with you ? 
Forget it, and look to the future for better things to come. 
Has your friend betrayed you, or your enemy sought to injure 
you ? Seek to so live that in time to come the regret will be 
theirs and not yours. Has death robbed you of your idols 
and deep sorrow mantled your life ? Remember that in some 
of God's " many mansions" you will find them all again, where 
the pain of parting will be known and felt no more. Remem- 
ber that there is abundant recompense for all life's woes — 
sometime — and somewhere. 



The true life — the life of the soul — the only life that is 
eternal — is within the reach of all. All that pertains to this 
animal existence — the appetites and passions — the greed for 
gain — the earthly ambitions — must all die out and disappear 
sometime. They are all "of the earth earthy." Only the 
" things of the spirit" — the virtues, loves, humanities, the 
higher aspirations, the outreachings for truth, and for the spirit- 
ual unfoldment that shall bring one into unison with the 
angelic hosts and the heart of the Infinite — these only will 
live forever. 






How empty and profitless must seem all things of earth — 
all unused wealth, all pride of name or station, all " pomp 
and circumstance " of life — to the man whose feet are cold 
with the creeping chill of death, and who realizes that with a 
few more faint pulsations his heart will be silent forevermore. 
That time will come to all, and, in the course of nature, to 
many of us soon. And yet how prone we are to live as though 
the day were far hence, and all our needs centered here. The 



240 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

harvest is ripe, gather ye in the sheaves; "for the night cometh 
when no man can work." 

MORAL DISEASE. 



The tendency to commit criminal acts is a moral disease, 
and those afflicted therewith should be treated as humanely 
as we would treat those who are afflicted with mental or 
physical maladies. Not that we would go to the extreme of 
absolving the criminal from all accountability for his acts; for 
that accountability, however slight it may be, is the leverage 
whereby we would work his cure. At the same time we would 
throw around him those benign and humane influences best 
calculated to stimulate his moral nature. It is much easier to 
arouse the better nature of undeveloped man by kind treat- 
ment, than to suppress the evil side by harsh means. Our 
prisons should be made schools of reform, and the prisoner 
should be restored to liberty only when such reform is effected; 
and once cured of his malady, no more odium should attach 
to him than to a discharged hospital patient cured of 
small-pox. 



To one who has sought the spiritual unfoldment of his 
own nature, and come closely in rapport with the spirit world 
— who can hold daily communion with his own loved ones in 
spirit, — he finds therein, and in the sweet assurance of a happy 
time to come when he shall join them in the Beyond, a joy 
and satisfaction that he would not exchange for aught that 
earth can give. 

" There is only a thin veil between us," so thin that many 
with clear spiritual vision can see the forms upon the other 
side ; and often the veil is swept entirely away, and we are per- 
mitted to greet them face to face. A grander truth the world 
has never known, Our facts and philosophy demonstrate be- 



A MOTHER S LOVE. 24 I 

yond reasonable question that "if a man die he shall live 
again." How puerile, then, the efforts of the ignorant and 
prejudiced to ignore this truth, and cast reproach upon its be- 
lievers. The narrow bigots of the pulpit, who believe in con- 
tinued existence without proof, and revile Spiritualists for dem- 
onstrating the fact of spirit existence, ought to hide their heads 
for shame. 

4-°+ 

A MOTHER'S LOVE. 



Who can measure the depths of a mother's love. There 
is no grief so terrible, no pain so keen, as that which comes to 
the mother's heart as she anxiously watches the fading away of 
the life of the darling babe she pillows upon her bosom. "*Oh 
pitying God, " she cries, in the agony of her bursting heart, 
" is there no help? 1 ' But no answer comes to her from the 
depths profound. The fluttering pulse grows fainter with each 
gasping breath, and then all is still, save the wild wail of her 
own dispair. She sees not the loving mother angel bending 
down by her side to gather the little cherub in her arms. She 
hears not the sweet notes of loving welcome that hail the 
newly -born spirit, as it opens its pretty eyes upon the delights 
of its beautiful spirit home. All is dark, dark. In this hour 
of her woe, "not all the preaching since Adam," can give to 
her such comfort as the positive knowledge that Spiritualism 
brings, that her babe still lives, and will soon come to nestle 
again in her own loving arms. 

What is there more beautiful in all of God's universe than 
a beautiful soul? An unselfish soul — a gentle, loving, sym- 
pathetic soul — a soul that is ever seeking the good of others — 
these are all beautiful souls, — souls that the shining ones de- 
light to draw near to — souls that have become one with the 
divine soul. We all know such souls, and we ever find 
special delight in being known by them. 



242 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

THE INEVITABLE. 



It is very hard for man to reconcile himself to the inev- 
itable. He cannot understand why he should be compelled 
to occupy a weak, sickly body, while his neighbor is strong 
and robust; — why his child should be taken from him, and 
his neighbor's left ; — why he should struggle on in poverty, 
toiling early and late for the bare necessities of life, while his 
neighbor revels in affluence. If he could only realize how 
little difference, really, there is between the condition of his 
neighbor and that of himself, with the advantage often in his 
own favor, he would cease repining. Wealth has cares and 
anxieties that poverty little knows. Health of body and mind; 
capacity to enjoy the beauty and grandeur of nature; love, 
with all its sacred ties and promptings ; aspiration, hope, the 
pleasure of knowledge, the true gladness of existence, — which 
are about all there is of this life, — are quite as much, if not 
really more, the property of the poor man as of the rich. 
Lift up your head, O my struggling brother, and be glad. 



The very best indication that Spiritualism is making rapid 
inroads upon the conservative thought of the age, and sapping 
the foundations of error, is the bitter and ignorant hostility it 
has aroused among the crystallized fossils of old theology. 
It is a glorious fact that all preachers of the Christian gospel 
are not of this class. Some of them have the good sense to 
see that Spiritualism embraces all that is good in Christianity, 
in addition to which it furnishes the skeptical world with the 
positive proof of spirit existence, that survives the destruction 
of the earthly body. 

* * 

The rich man who possesses the good sense to become the 
executor of his own estate, and. wisely disposes of the same, 
will not have occasion to worry himself, " over there," about 



A WIDE DIFFERENCE 245, 

what he might have done. With his earth work all accom- 
plished, he will go on at once to higher enjoyments and richer 

experiences. 

-♦♦ ♦- 

A WIDE DIFFERENCE. 






It is one thing to believe in spirit communion, quite an- 
other to be a truly spiritual man or woman. Hence, among 
Spiritualists, or those claiming to be such, we find nearly all 
grades of meanness and unworthiness. This is not the fault 
of Spiritualism, but of poor, undeveloped human nature. A 
fault which all true Spiritualists should seek to overcome, first 
in their own natures, and next in the natures and lives of their 
neighbors. We make no pretension to goodness. It would 
be egotism and selfishness in us combined to think that we 
possessed any virtues superior to those of our neighbors. 
And yet, we humbly believe, that before we would seek to 
rise by pulling some one else down, or injure another in his- 
good name or in his business, we would, to borrow one of Sam 
Jones' forcible figures of speech, "trade ourselves off for a 
yaller dog, and then hire a Chinaman to kill the dog.'* 



The lesson which the Teacher seemed to regard as one of 
the utmost importance, and one which he enforced upon his 
hearers and followers upon all occasions, was that of charity. 
He regarded one who had no charity in his heart for the 
weaknesses and shortcomings of his fellow beings as one who 
came far short of the kingdom — that is, of that state or con- 
dition of spirit conducive to the truest happiness in this life 
and the next. Of the three graces, Faith, Hope and Charity, 
a certain ritual declares — "The greatest of these is Charity ; 
"for faith may be lost in sight, Hope ends in fruition, but Char- 
ity extends beyond the grave throughout the countless ages; 
"of eternity." 



244 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

The facts and philosophy of Spiritualism are inseparably 
united. They must necessarily go through the world hand in 
hand. The philosophy without the phenomena would tax the 
credulity of men as never did the myths and fables of super- 
stition. It would be the old impossibility of intelligent belief 
by faith. We must substitute knowledge for speculation, and 
knowledge of spirit existence and its power to return can only 
come with the positive manifestations, as given through our 
mediums. Hence, there should not be the slightest occasion 
for inharmony among Spiritualists on this point. Each phase 
■of Spiritualism is a "part of one stupendous whole." 

* -* 

There is a satisfaction that comes to the soul with the 

knowledge that life is continuous beyond the grave, and that 
there are none lost in an orthodox sense of everlasting punish- 
ment — a satisfaction far beyond aught that words can express. 
It takes out of the heart the rankling feeling that the plan of 
the universe is a stupendous wrong, and fills it to the brim with 
xeverence for the Creator. It reconciles one to life and duty, 
and strews the most rugged pathway with flowers. Let us be 
glad and rejoice that there is love enough in the heart of God 
to save all His children. 

♦ £-■ 

Spiritualists can never know how much of real joy there 

is in their beautiful philosophy until their own spirits are 
brought into harmony with the divine spirit of love and char- 
ity for all. The mere acceptance of a belief in the facts of 
-spirit phenomena is of no benefit to any one, without the 
adaptation of one's life to the teachings that come with such 
phenomena. But entered into in the right spirit, and with the 
soul attuned to the harmonies of the higher life, there is in 
this new gospel such a wealth of joy as no tongue can express. 

The following idea of God was given through a child- 
medium of eight years, the daughter of a friend of the writer: 



GIVING WHAT ONE DOESN'T WANT. 245 

4 Tell us what you know of God." " We have never seen God, 
and do not think any one ever has, or will see Him." "Please 
give us your idea of God." "Take everything that exists — 
.everything — and God is the Life, the Soul and the Spirit of 
it all." Could a Talmage have given a better answer ? 
+o+ 

GIVING WHAT ONE DOESN'T WANT. 



There is but little, if any, virtue in giving what one 
'doesn't want, or what one can give and never miss, or can 
spare without any inconvenience to himself. That kind of 
giving, although commendable, is never very highly inspiring 
4;o the giver. The giving of the " widow's mite," spoken of in 
•the Christian Scripture, was a far grander act, in a spiritual 
sense, than the giving of thousands by others who have tens 
of thousands to give. Neither is there much virtue in post 
mortem benevolence ; for that is simply giving away the prop- 
erty of others ; it belongs then to one's heirs, if he has any; 
if not, then it belongs to the State. Ownership of earthly 
possessions lapses with the last breath. A disposition of 
property for charitable purposes by will is a good deal like the 
proposition of Artemas Ward, to sacrifice all his wife's rela- 
tives on the altar of his country, before the Union should be 
•dissolved ! The good we would do in this world we should do 
now. 

§o§ 

We are all, more or less, subject to psychic influences 
both from the seen and unseen world. It should be the study 
of every life to understand the nature of these influences, and 
to so school his own spirit as to be positive to influences for 
•evil and negative or receptive to the good. In this happy 
equipoise of soul man can steadily move onward and upward to 
better and higher conditions of spiritual unfoldment, even 
unto companionship with angels. 



246 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

A NEW MEANING. 



Read in the light of the new Gospel, the old Hebrew 
melodies of David have a new meaning. In fact, the old and 
revered writings of any people become luminous with spiritual 
light, when once our spirits become illuminated with the light 
of truth. They are the poetic inspirations of races of human 
beings just emerging from the darkness of barbarism, embody- 
ing often grand lessons of life that are as good to-day as they 
were when uttered centuries ago. " A new commandment give 
I unto you," said Jesus, "that ye love one another." Can any 
better advice than that be given to the world in these modern 
times ? Can the attrition of the ages, or the erosion of time- 
ever wear out or deface the " Golden Rule? " It is thus with 
all truth that has its origin in the higher spiritual nature of man. 

That is a selfish, narrow love that would exact more than: 
it would give. Indeed, it is not the highest love that would 
demand any return. Such is not the love of a mother for a 
wayward child; nor of the wife who clings devotedly to a cruel' 
or worthless husband. It is not the love of a soldier who gives 
up his life on the altar of his country; nor was it the love of 
Him who died for humanity. If it is glorious to give some- 
thing for nothing, how much greater the glory for giving good 
for ill. The spirit that has attained to such divine hights 
has reached the vestibule of the temple where dwells Infinite 
Goodness. 



Who that has come into the truth — into loving nearness 
and companionship with the spirit world — and learned the 
beautiful lessons of life and love that angels teach, would ex- 
change the precious satisfaction it gives to him for all the treas- 
ures of earth ! It is something to live by — something to light 
the way through the dark valley to the sun-kissed hills beyond.- 



INCENTIVES TO A BETTER LIFE. 247 

INCENTIVES TO A JBETTEK LIFE. 



While thousands of people flock to hear Moody and Sam 
Jones, and many others recognize in those men a power for 
usefulness in the world, yet the number of attendants upon 
their ministrations who take much stock in their statements 
of religious creed — that is, in the fall of man, the vicarious 
atonement, a personal devil, etc., — is comparatively small. If 
sinful men can be induced to forsake their evil ways and 
become better citizens, better husbands and fathers, in no 
other way than through the preaching of Sam Jones, or any other 
revivalist, — if a belief in hell fire, literally, is necessary to save 
a man from drunkenness, or stealing, or wife-beating, we would 
give him the fire, and make it hot. We have no quarrel with 
evangelical religion. While we think it is much more creditable 
for a man to live an upright life from a sense of duty than 
from any fear of post mortem consequences, we will not quibble 
about the ethics of the question, if only men are made better. 

§o§— 

Nature presents to man many problems, many strange 
manifestations, which she expects him to investigate, and to 
deduce therefrom a lesson tor his benefit. To stand upon the 
border line of some phenomenon, afraid to go forward — as do 
some timid souls with regard to the wonderful facts of 
Spiritualism — is indicative of moral weakness or cowardice. 
There is no forbidden fruit in the garden of Nature. All is for 
man's use, for profit or instruction. He who would find the 
truth must seek for it with untiring diligence, and never allow 
any bugbear of superstition to intimidate him from the search. 

How rapidly the years glide away — youth, manhood, age 
— the three milestones in the journey of life, that seem so very 
far apart in childhood, are but a step from each other as we 
look backward. First a pulsating germ, then a conscious entity 



248 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

struggling in the coil of destiny, then a helpless clod trundled 
away to the ash heap ! Oh, marvelous mystery of being ! 
Well may we ask, Whence cometh man, and whither goeth he? 

* 

* * 

In many ways human life has its counterpart in outward 
nature. In some lives we see the tempest and the whirlwind; 
in some the shifting sands of the desert and the restless tumult 
of the waves; in some the calm and beauty of the summer 
sunset; in some the grandeur and glory of the mountain peak. 
In others still we have the melody of birds, the murmur of the 
rippling brook, the fragrance of the flowers, and the soft airs 
of spring. But whatever type of life may be thine, dear reader, 
let it not be wanting in that divine sweetness that makes it one 
with God. 

* -x- 
How much better is wisdom than riches, — not the wisdom 
that plans only for time, but the true wisdom of the spirit that 
lays its foundations in truth and builds for eternity. Think ye 
not, O mortal, ye whose life is wholly wrapped up in the gar- 
ments of earth, that when you come to lay aside those garments, 
you will blush at your own nakedness? What is the flitting 
phantasm of the full span of mortal years, to the countless 
aeons of infinate duration beyond ! Shall we feed the spirit on 
husks to gratify the vanities of earth ? Shall we live that we 
may die, or die that we may live ? 

* 
* * 

" Would you put away the Bible ? *"' inquires a good sister, 
whose heart had been touched with the new gospel, but who 
still clings to the religion and teaching of her fathers. Cer- 
tainly not; we would put nothing away, or out of the lite of the 
world, that is of any use to humanity. There are many golden 
lessons in both testaments that the world needs to-day as never 
before. There are some things, in the Old Testament espe- 
cially, that we would not care to perpetuate ; — for instance, the 



SLAVES TO ENVIRONMENT. 249 

cruelties and debaucheries said to have been perpetrated by the 
consent and at the instigation of the Lord of Hosts. We do 
not believe the Lord ever countenanced murder or rapine in 
the past, any more than he does to-day. God speaks to man 
by inspiration just the same in one age as in another. 



S LAVES TO ENVIRON M ENT. 



We are all slaves, to a greater or less extent, first, to 
heredity, second, to early training, and next to environment. 
While we recognize the mighty power of the spirit to overcome 
these conditions, in time or eternity, we must ever bear in 
mind and ever acknowledge their potency in diverting man 
from the straight and narrow way of rectitude, honor, temper- 
ance and spiritual independence, which his better nature and 
higher impulses tell him is the true way of life. A better 
knowledge of this fact would teach those who have been blest 
with better conditions to exercise the broadest charity towards 
their less fortunate brothers. If you are better than your 
neighbor, pause and consider whether or not you might not 
have been worse, had you been in his place. Humility is a 
virtue that but few of us are overstocked with. 



Death comes to the aged as a gentle and loving friend. 
It touches the tired heart and its pulses are stilled. It kisses 
the eyelids of care, and they are lulled to sleep. It fans the 
brow with its cool breath, and it finds repose in the bosom 
of Mother Earth. A little while, and the morning of a new 
day will break upon the world. 

Titles and wealth count for naught in the country whither 
thou goest. There will be none to do you honor because of 
any earthly distinction you may have enjoyed here. The king, 
the prince, and the beggar are no longer such, but only the 
man, the brightness of whose aura, or lustre of whose garments 



25° 



SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 



will depend wholly upon his purity or nobility of character. 
There are many people who believe, or think they believe, this 
truth, but who live as though they expected the hosts of the 
spirit world to bow down before them when they shall land 

upon the other shore. 

§o§ 

COME UP. 



Come up out of the cellar, O brother sojourner in the 

City of the Mortal ! Do heavy cares weigh you down ? Are 

you worrying or borrowing trouble over what you cannot help ? 

It does you no good to mope, or go dow T n into the cellar of 

your nature, where all is dark, damp and dismal. That is not 

the way to bear the load. Your angel friends cannot help you 

there, because they cannot reach you. They would have you 

come up and out into the -sweet sunlight of the spirit, where 

they can see the trials that beset you, and assist you in removing 

them. If you do your best, and then fail, you have real cause 

for rejoicing. You will yet be crowned victor in the home of 

the immortals, if not in the land of Beulah. 
§o§ 

Blessed be the man who finds heaven in this life, for then 
he has something that can never be taken from him. Pie 
need then have no apprehensions concerning the future, for he 
has brought the future, with all its treasures of delights, into 
his own soul. Life henceforth becomes to him a living joy. 
The nearest and most direct road to this condition of happi- 
ness is by doing good to others. 

* * 

The believer in our facts whose Spiritualism is all upon 

the external plane — that is, in the pleasures of sensuous phe- 
nomena — with no high aspiration for the uplifting and unfold- 
ment of his own spiritual nature — misses the lesson of the 
divine purpose in his earthly discipline by an infinite waste of 
barren years. It is not by beholding the goal from afar, but by 
manfully running the race, that we may win the prize. 



A RELIGIOUS WAR. 25 I 

A RELIGIOUS WAR. 



"The next war, ,r says an alarmist friend of ours, "will 
be a religious war.'' If so it will be a bloodless war, a war of 
opinions merely. There are but very few persons who have 
•enough of the kind of religion that would prompt them to 
fight to force it upon the consciences of others, and the num. 
ber is daily becoming less. Let Rome, for instance, undertake 
at, and all the world, Protestant and Pagan, would rise up 
against her. Let any one of the Protestant sects, or all of 
them combined, attempt the sublime folly, and they would 
bave to encounter all manner of liberalism, with Rome added. 
Public opinion is stronger than law, hence the folly of attempt- 
ing to force any law upon the people that is distasteful to them. 
We say to all souls, overburdened with the idea that the people 
.are to be deprived, by religious intolerance, of any human 
right, or reasonable liberty, Don't you believe it. 

+U+ 

Every rich man, if he is reasonably wise, will be the execu- 
tor of his own estate. Then he can make just such disposi- 
tion of it as he would like. His wealth will not be at the 
mercy of probate courts, nor scheming lawyers, nor unworthy 
heirs — after he passes out and on. To look down from one's 
future abode and behold the careful accumulations of one's 
lifetime of years scattered to the winds by rollicking relatives, 
who are only too glad to get their fingers on the old man's coin, 
can not afford the spirit a very great measure of comfort. 
Why wait until it is everlastingly too late, but do the good now 
that will give to the disenthralled spirit the blessing of rest a 
little further on. 

* # 

The spirit world has undertaken a mighty work — that of 
uplifting and spiritualizing the world of humanity that is exclud- 
ed from the churches. It ought to have the "God-speed" of 
the churches in this work, but it has not. They seem to prefer 



252 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

that man shall go to hades unless he chooses to go to heavers 
by their especial lines. They denounce Spiritualism for 
the shortcomings of its believers, forgetting that it is working 
up valuable material that they have had the short-sightedness- 
to overlook and exclude. 



ERRONEOUS BELIEF. 



There are many good people who really believe that our 
liberties are in danger from religious intolerance — that the 
efforts of a few cranks to fasten a law for Sunday observance 
upon the nation, and to force the Bible into the public schools, 
will surely succeed if not met with vigorous resistance. They seem 
to overlook the fact that there is a silent resistant force in modern 
civilization which renders all such efforts absolutely futile. It 
is impossible for the race to go back into the swaddling clothes 
of its infancy. Not but there may be those who would seek even 
to re-establish the inquisition, or re-enact the blue laws of the 
early American colonies, but with the aggregate of enlightenment 
against them, which is steadily broadening and increasing, they 
might as well undertake to check the onward flow of the gulf" 
stream with a sand-bag, or trip up a cyclone with a feather. 
Jo J 

TRUTH. 



The truth should be the goal of all philosophy — of all 
religious thought. No man should be so wrapped up in his 
own conceit as to imagine he has all the truth. He cannot 
afford to deceive himself, and certainly, if he is honest, he 
would not deceive others. It may be humiliating to him to 
be compelled to cast down his idols, and surrender his 
cherished opinions; but his readiness to do so, when convinced 
of the truth, is the true gauge of manly honesty. What matters 
it if one happens to be wrong, if he is only willing to be set 
aright. It is dogmatic adherence to the wrong, in the face of 



1 

: 



LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE. 253 

reasonable evidence to the contrary, that makes the angels 
weary of their task in the reformation of humanity. 

LIKE ATTRACTS T.IKE. 



He who lives on a low plane, and indulges in unworthy 
thoughts^ naturally attracts to his atmosphere spirits upon the 
same level of life, and he therein finds helps to a downward 
course. Hence, the natural tendency of all who thus live is 
to gravitate from bad to worse — to sink to still lower levels in 
the scale of being. On the other hand, he who aspires to the 
better life — says to his lower nature, "Get thee behind me, 
Satan,'' — will receive help from the spirit to overcome. If he 
looks upward, with an earnest aspiration to rise, he will ever 
find a friendly hand reaching downward to help him. And so 
it is, that there is no standing still in life's journey. We are 
either ascending the nights, or descending into the dark valleys. 
In the latter case through what agonies must the spirit pass in 
its backward turning to the light no one can know. 



>■•: 



ALL TRAVELERS IN LIFE'S JOURNEY. 



Ought we not to school ourselves to look with tender com- 
passion upon the undeveloped spirit that can do another a 
wrong? Only think of the long journey before such souls — 
the path beset with thorns, which they must walk with aching- 
hearts and bleeding feet, before they can reach the higher life 
of the spirit. We are all travelers in life's journey together; the 
strong should assist the weak — should help them to bear their 
burdens with patience and humility. Can he ask for help or 
strength who is unwilling to impart help or strength to those 
weaker than himself ? And what is the one who would do 
wrong to his fellows but one who is weak, and needs help to 
overcome the evil in his own nature ? Let us ascend the 
bights of being, not grope in the shadows. 



'54 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

ON TO OTHER CONQUESTS. 



There are too many mere believers in spiritual phenom- 
ena in the world, and too few whose lives have been made 
sweeter and more beautiful by an acceptance, first, of the facts 
of Spiritualism, and next, by squaring their lives according to 
the higher teachings of our beautiful philosophy. It should be 
the ambition of all believers in the intercommunion of the 
two worlds to bring themselves into harmony with the higher 
and finer symphonies of the divine life of the soul. Why 
should anyone be content to go through life forever "seeking 
for a sign," especially when he has had a thousand signs, and 
knows of a certainty that the spirit survives the death of the 
body? No wise or thoughtful person will content himself 
with the simple possession of a spiritual fact, however great or 
important it may be. He will soon begin to correlate it with 
his own spirit, and then pass on to other conquests. 



How often, with the new year, thoughtful men — men 
encased wholly in the affairs of earth, but who sometimes think 
beyond the present, — how often do such men, with the opening- 
year, resolve better things. Bad habits are cast off, and many 
good resolutions recorded on the tablets of their minds, which 
all too often fail to take root in the spirit. A little while, and 
they drift back into their old ways, and not even a vestige of 
their good resolution is left, to indicate that they ever thought 
of "entering the path'' that leads to the higher life. 



* 



The man or woman who cannot rise superior to the petty 
passions of hatred towards an inferior, for any real or imaginary 
wrong done to them, shows themselves to be no better or nobler 
than the object of their uncharitable thought. There is much 
they will find it necessary to overcome in their own natures 
before they are prepared to "enter the path" of spiritual growth. 
There is only one way to true happiness, and that is by the 



WHAT HE MOST NEEDS. 



2 55 



exercise of the spirit of forgiveness and gentleness. It may not 
be really possible to love one's enemies, but it is possible not to 
hate or despise them. Until we can render good for evil we 
are not the children of Light. 



WHAT HE MOST NEEDS. 



What every Spiritualist most needs is the uplifting of his 
own spiritual nature. When once he knows that the so-called 
dead live again, and that under certain conditions they can 
hold communication with mortals, then should he set himself 
at the task of preparing himself for that higher life, by bring- 
ing himself into harmony with the Divine spirit in his own na- 
ture. This he can not do by unworthy thoughts and practices. 
He must get beyond the everlasting seeking after tests. The 
test is to arrest the attention of the skeptic, not to transfix it 
for all time to that one object. And yet, how many Spiritual- 
ists there are who seem to stop right there. There are many 
instances in nature of what might be regarded as- arrested de- 
velopment. Such instances ought not to be found among those 
to whom the new gospel has come. 



The life of man is trj^ life of the mere animal, when 
prompted by no impulse to a noble end. To live and toil, to 
buy and sell, and struggle for earthly possessions, and all that 
the physical man may be cared for, and revel in the delights 
of earth, with no outreaching for the higher life — in unfoldment 
of the spiritual nature — no aspiration for the divine life, which 
is the perfection of existence — is to live and die as the brute 
dies. Such an existence is unworthy an immortal soul. 






How swift the gliding years ! Increasing, seemingly, with 
the momentum of time, until the landmarks of life — the birth- 
days and the holidays, the days of gladness and the days of 
woe — blend .into each other, like the wayside objects to the 



256 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS, 

traveler by the lightning express. And so we are speeding 
onward from youth to manhood, from manhood to old age, and 
thence out into the night of death, and the sleep that wakens 

upon a new day. 

■ -~ ■-♦♦♦• ■ 

ON AY HAT HAPPINESS DEPENDS. 



If man could only realize how much his happiness here 
and hereafter depended upon the unfoldment of those facul- 
ties for which only will he have use in the life beyond, think 
you he would be a laggard in well doing? What use in the 
beyond, for instance, will he have for the exercise of the ac- 
quisitive faculties — for the knack of money-getting, to which 
so many devote their lives, — a very useful faculty, we con- 
cede, when coupled with generosity and benevolence, but 
when not, a very millstone about the neck. What use will he 
have for unkind thoughts, for uncharitable behavior, for mean- 
ness of any kind ? A nature trained to the indulgence of evil 
thoughts or h abits will find itself, sometime and somewhere, 
compelled to pass through furnace fires of discipline to fit it 
for the better life. 



INHARMONIOUS THOUGHTS. 



How very little we know of the subtle and unseen forces, 
the exquisite life principles, that control these bodies of ours. 
The nerves are so extremely sensitive that they may be affected 
even by unkind and inharmonious thoughts, which, reacting 
upon the body, produce headache, loss of appetite, indigestion, 
etc., disturbing all the currents of being. Some persons are so 
sensitive as to be conscious of the cause of the disturbances 
affecting the physical health; others are affected all the same 
without realizing the cause of the trouble. Spirits on the other 
side of life, especially those who are skilled in the art of com- 
municating with mortals, understand these things much better 
than we do. In entrancing their mediums they often find 



t;iVE IT TIME. 



5-7 



conditions in the way of perfect control that the mortal would 
never think of, and they understand dealing with those subtle 
forces much better than do mortals. 



GIVE IT TTMK. 



If Spiritualists were more deeply schooled and grounded 
in the philosophy and religion of Spiritualism, they would rank 
higher among the world's reformers, because they would then- 
carry their faith into their works. The attention of many 
intelligent people on a low spiritual plane of life — Atheists, 
materialists, and sometimes people of questionable morality 
and practices — is arrested by the phenomenal facts of Spiritual- 
ism. They are forced to admit the truth of spirit existence 
and return, and henceforth they are called Spiritualists. But 
they are so only in name, until their natures become quickened 
by the Divine Spirit, and they ascend into the higher realm of 
being. Spiritualism is doing for these people what no other 
system of philosophy or religion could do. But we must give 
it time for the leaven to work. 



He who would win the race must fix his eyes upon the 
good, and press forward for the prize. Man is surrounded with 
so many temptations to a life of indolent ease — so much to 
encumber his spirit and weigh him down, — and then Necessity 
steps in with her imperious demands, which can be attained 
often only by hard contest, in a field of fierce competition, with 
others struggling for the same end, that it is not surprising that 
so few are able to climb the upper heights of being in this life. 
But is it not well to "try again,'' and with a firmer purpose? 






As night shuts out the light of day, and covers earth with 
a pall of gloom, so unkind thoughts shut out the light and love 
of the Infinite Spirit, that would otherwise stream into the 
soul, filling it with a radiance and glory all divine. If we 



258 SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

would live in the warmth and glow of spiritual truth, we 

should seek patiently for the path, and walk steadily and 

truthfully therein. 

XoX 

QUESTIONS. 



A correspondent writes: " Will you please answer the fol- 
lowing questions: — (1) What is Soul — is it material — of what 
kind of Matter is it? (2) What is the spirit of Man — is it 
material and of what kind? (3) What is Thought — are 
thoughts material — how tangible are they? 

1 st. We understand soul to be the material covering or 
body of the spirit, just as the physical body is the covering of 
both soul and spirit. When the spirit, which is the conscious 
ego, leaves the body, it takes its house to live in with it. This 
is what is termed the spirit body, and it is composed of the 
finer emanations of the physical body — has weight, substance 
and tangibility, — that is, to spiritual sense. We must remem- 
ber that there are many forms of matter of which our physical 
senses are indifferently cognizant. Why may there not be 
infinite varieties and gradations of matter entirely beyond the 
ken of our physical senses, as indeed, we know there is in 
some directions, as science has demonstrated? 

2d. The spirit of man we regard as the divine essence, 
which, acting upon matter, manifests intelligence. This may 
be a still finer form of matter, for ought man may know. 

3d. Thought is the expression of the spirit through 
matter, bearing with it something of the substance through 
which it passes. Thus, thoughts are things, or rather, they 
become things whenever they seek expression. Their degree 
of tangibility may be measured by the force and power with 
which they impinge themselves upon the consciousness of 
others. 

We do not think any of us know much about matter or 
spirit, or whether they are not all one in essence, but differing 
in degree. When we. know more we shall be glad to say more. 



MUSTERED OUT. 259 

MUSTERED OUT. 



Note the gray heads in any of our public audiences — the 
large number of men and women who are on the down grade, 
and rapidly nearing the silent river. The fierce combat and 
struggle for life is nearly or quite over with them, and, with 
tired hearts and bleeding feet, they are waiting for the ambuL 
ance to gather them in. And yet we know there are many to 
whom gray hairs bring no regrets. They have "fought the 
good fight," and are glad that they are nearing home. Not 
for worlds would they have it otherwise. Get ready, old 
soldiers of the grand army of life, — ye are about to be mus- 
tered out. Square up your accounts with the commissary de- 
partment, polish up your uniform for the last grand review, and 
patiently wait marching orders for home ! There are many 
loved faces at the window watching for your coming. 



" Excelsior!" shouldbe the motto of every Spiritualist. 
No one should be content to sit down in quiet satisfaction with 
sensuous phenomena. All should seek for the mountain height 
of spiritual unfoldment and delight; they should ascend the 
ladder reached down to them from the angel world, resolved 
to become one with the Divine Spirit— fit companions for the 
highest and best in God's beautiful realm of individualized 
spirit intelligences. 

Love is the panacea for all ills. It will heal all sorrow, 
cure all strife, bind up all broken hearts, solve all problems of 
social or civil discord, and lead the race up out of the 
wilderness of error and inharmony, and out into the promised 
land flowing with the milk and honey of peace and plenty. To 
bring the entire race under the dominion of love, it is only 
necessary for each individual to place himself in harmony with 
the higher law of his own spirit. 



2bO- SPIRITUAL FRAGMENTS. 

When the clouds and rubbish shall be swept away from 
our beautiful Spiritualism, the light of its glorious truth will 
shine forth brighter than ever. Spiritualists have no one but 
themselves to blame for the prominence that has been given to 
the delusions and falsities that have been practiced in the 
name of Spiritualism by some persons possessing but very little, 
if any, real mediumship. No honest mediums, of whom there 
are many, need fear the most thorough investigation. 

* * 

What is there more beautiful in all God's universe than a 
beautiful soul — a gentle, loving nature, bubbling over with 
kind thoughts for all humanity, and ever finding expression in 
generous deeds. We have known and still know many such. 
Some have passed on to realms of light and love, and are now 
of the shining one ; and some, with their brows encircled with 
a halo of glory, are waiting trustingly on the shores of time, — 
golden grain ripe for the reaper's sickle. 

Good average sense should teach a man that the condition 
of mind and quality of action that produce the greatest measure 
of health and happiness in this life is the right condition and 
action to cultivate and practice. There is nothing so promotive 
of health as temperance in all things, and nothing that affords 
so much lasting satisfaction as good deeds done to others. 

"The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."' 
How often we hear these words mumbled over in our courts, 
and in other places where official oaths are administered, 
making no more impression, often, on the mind of the affiant 
than if uttered in Choctow. And yet they contain the pearl of 
all earthly knowledge — all that is desirable in science or religion 
— the true end and aim of all research. This is the priceless 
gem that all should seek for. 



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